North America News

Ted Kennedy called a man of quiet faith

Ted Kennedy recalled as Northern Ireland peace broker

Senator Edward Kennedy Remembered Fondly in Ireland

Health Care Protesters Largely From Out Of District, Sign-In Sheets Show

Far-right religious group behind outrageous health care lies

White House emails, Bush aide implicate Rove in firing of US Attorneys

Homeless Holocaust Survivor Leaves $100K Gift

Bill Clinton Retrieves Jailed U.S. Journalists in North Korea

Analysis: Memo raises questions about Iraq pullout

House votes to clamp limits on Wall Street bonuses

U.S. releases unclassified spy images of Arctic ice

Urban farming fantasies (survivalism gets hip)

On the web: Hillary’s big speech, water in the Middle East, British defence spending…

State Dept announces Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review

Ban Ki-moon: analyst, nostalgist or leader?

Iran Jails Irani-American Woman Protesting Elections

From Denny: An Iranian-American female grad student went to Iran to study and document women's issues in Iran. That didn't sit well with the local government soon after she arrived and they threw her into jail. These guys have issues with being American-phobic and female-phobic. Heaven forbid if women are as capable of being their equals. Their egos can't handle it.

But I figure there is really more here than keeping the females controlled in Iran. It sure looked like they were keeping her on the back burner as a bargaining chip or pawn for an international incident they could turn to their favor. Whatever the motivation this young woman was lucky to get out alive and in one piece. Take a look at her story.

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Secret Service Blew It On State Dinner Security

From Denny: Two party crashers thought it would be funny to crash the Presidential state dinner. Somehow, I'm not amused. My first question would be "OK, who did the party crashers bribe?" If not an aide to the President or a Secret Service agent were the ones helping these two jerks get into the White House, then someone was asleep on the job. I don't know which is worse: total opportunistic sleaze or gross incompetence. And, if none of those situations, then the only remaining possibility is there are too many cavalier Republicans in the Secret Service that don't take it seriously to protect this President. It does make you wonder...

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What is funny about this is that a newsman, anchorman Brian Williams of NBC, happened to be among the 300+ invited guests and even he figured out there was something hinky going on. Which again, makes you wonder why the Secret Service did not also figure out the same as a mere civilian managed to do:

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Video: Prez Obamas First State Dinner Rocks the White House

From Denny: Prez Obama has been making headlines for his first state dinner. The relationship with India has been tenuous since Obama came into office. India has taken offense at not being treated as a first string player in the global debate as they felt they were during the Bush years.

While I don't think President Obama intentionally meant to bruise India's feelings he was ill advised. Rather than follow exactly what his advisers thought he should have first sent a team to speak to the leadership and get a pulse on their attitudes. If he did send someone then they are not very good at reading people. The information Obama was given by his past administration's advisers was outdated in regards to India to say the least. "The times they are a changing."

Generally, these are the minute mistakes of a first year President; they all do something to this effect. These are the missteps which can easily be corrected to everyone's satisfaction and President Obama is a gracious man capable of carrying it forward.

India is a rising global power with one billion of the planet's population. Did you also know they are the largest world democracy as well?

The Obama state dinner was a hot ticket in status hungry Washington, D. C., especially since the Obamas featured both Hollywood and Bollywood for the rocking entertainment.

The incredible gesture from India to create a stunner dress for the First Lady was touching to American's hearts.

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The awesome stunner dress made in India by an Indian designer for the Obama's first state dinner. Everyone was wowed by the First Lady's entrance:

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*** Thanks for visiting and have a great Thanksgiving!

Rounding Up Editorial Cartoons 21 Nov 2009

From Denny: Every Saturday I round up the best editorial cartoons of the week. They sure do lampoon the latest news! This week women have been up in arms angry at new health care guidelines which sounded really lame. There is the controversy over bringing Gitmo terrorists onto American soil to hang 'em in the New York courts just blocks away from the still destroyed Twin Towers area. Comments about Prez Obama's trips to Japan and China, too much bowing and nice-nice for most cartoonists apparently. Plenty of cartoonists lampooning Congress about health care.

Be sure to check out the funny video of Comedy Central's Jon Stewart lampooning the Palin book tour and the GOP in general. There are real news headline links to check out about the book tour farce and how Palin has already stiffed her fans, leaving them hanging literally out in the cold for hours in the rain in Indiana. They were not happy campers at all. Well, that's what you get when your hero is a fantasy: reality face slaps.

So, hike on over to The Social Poets where I park those cartoons every week and enjoy yourself today! BTW, thanks, everyone for visiting. You have been coming by the thousands, quite the unexpected turnout for my comedy parties, thank you! I'll make sure I order more appetizers for my hungry hordes... :)

This Weeks Editorial Cartoons 21 Nov 2009

7 Funny Quotes About Reading Habits

Reading Upside Down Photo by garryknight @ flickr

From Denny: Today, and every Wednesday, is Cheeky Quote Day over at The Social Poets, one of my many blogs where I dance on the airwaves. Here's a sampling of what's going on today:

Quotes

* A classic is something that everybody wants to have read
and nobody wants to read. ~ Mark Twain ~

* Never lend books, for no one ever returns them;
the only books I have in my library are books
that other folks have left me. ~ Anatole France ~

* I read the newspaper avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction. ~ Aneurin Bevan ~

* Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore? ~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

* Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.
~ Groucho Marx ~

* Books are the blessed chloroform of the mind. ~ Robert Chambers ~

* Never judge a book by its movie.
~ J. W. Eagan ~


*** To read a bonanza of funny quotes like this, hike on over to The Social Poets for Cheeky Quote Day to get some more grins, go here.

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

Video: Halle Berry Making a Difference for Battered Women

From Denny: If you missed this segment you will definitely want to watch it. Halle Berry grew up with an abusive father who battered her mother. Today, the actress is helping other women get strong, help heal them and their children and build new - and confident - lives.

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Videos: Prez Obama Veterans Day Remembrances, Fort Hood Honors Those Not Forgotten

From Denny: Today is Veterans Day in America. While President Obama remembers on a national level there is a small town near Fort Hood, Texas that honors their troops every day. After the act of domestic terrorism from a psychiatrist who suffered a psychotic break to kill or wound many on base, the soldiers carry on their lives. They are not broken; they are not afraid. They chose to come out today and honor their own.

Please take a quiet pause today, remembering those who have fallen and those who have served this country and your country as well over many generations, whether we agree with a particular war or not. Too many honorable people have died down the centuries for dishonorable and dishonest politicians and monarchs. People who give their lives in battle or service are a testament to the quality of a country’s character. Thank you…

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*** Since it's Veterans Day here are two articles written on the related subjects of War, Remembrance and Peace:

Great Peace Quotes with Great Photos

Quest for Peace

“Mankind must not only seek Peace. We must pursue it with all the deeply felt sincerity of our hearts. We must pursue Peace with the diligent work of our hands every day in every relationship we know. Peace comes a little at a time, rippling outward until one day it touches and convinces all.” – Denny Lyon, 3 March 2009

Memorial Day Poems

War Affects Us All

Let the old men who send the young men to war stop and think long, and work harder for Peace, before affecting generations yet to come. Poems written about the reality of war from family, children, citizens, soldiers and medical personnel.

At my photo blog, Visual Insights: 14 Veterans Day Remembrance Photos

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often!

How Kindness Develops Your Strength - and Power to Attract Love

From Denny: Kindness is often a hard sell in an aggressive Western society like America and parts of Europe. Kindness has been derided as a weakness, especially by the Republicans and other conservative fundamentalist cultures worldwide who consider kindness undesirable.

The conservatives in America claim to hold to Christian principles and "What Would Jesus Do?" T-shirts, forgetting the whole point of Jesus was about kindness. Jesus was also humanity's strongest person ever to walk this Earth! He is known for his profound teachings that span the centuries.

Quote

Kindness in words creates confidence
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness
Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao-tzu, Chinese philiospher


*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

*** For more quotes like this, please visit Beautiful Illustrated Quotations, go here.

Video: Overview of World Censorship on the Web

From Denny: This video zips along at a fast pace, full of diagrams, so you may need to watch it twice. :) Quite an eye-opener if you haven't seen this. Pass it forward to your friends so they realize just how much freedom we have in America to enjoy the internet. Amazing how little access some countries experience...

6 Ironic Grinners! Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets - 4 Nov 2009

Ironic funny quotes comin' at ya, hard and fast! :)

From Denny: Found a lot of witty quotes for the Cheeky Quote Day! segment over at The Social Poets today! They will definitely get you thinking while you are laughing, a real two-fer to keep the brain cells in stellar fitness shape. :)

Witty quotes also make great writing prompts as they expose your mind to thinking about a subject from a different angle. Construct your own writing exercises for your blog or journal. Riffing off of quotes really does a lot to improve your writing. Give it a try and see for yourself!



Here are a few funny quotes for your tasty mind candy today (while you are detoxing from your Halloween candy high):

Quotes

* All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley

* The sinning is the best part of repentance. - Arab Proverb

* Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same. - G.B. Shaw, "Maxims for Revolutionists," 1898

* It's pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious. - Kin Hubbard

* Is a stolen copyright a copywrong? – Anonymous

*** Thanks for visiting, much appreciated and come back often for a grin!

*** To get to Ironic Grinners - Cheeky Quote Day! 4 Nov 2009 - go here.

Video: Americans Rush to Donate to Afghanistan Orphanage in News Story

From Denny: This is one of those stories journalists like to tell, something happy and an unexpected good outcome. NBC News ran this story about the children being cared for in the war zone of Kabul, Afghanistan by Andisha Farrid in her safe haven orphanage.

The first video is the most recent. You can watch the progression of the news story through the next videos. It really is wonderful to see so many people respond to a story on the news, opening their hearts, their homes and their wallets to help support these children in need half a world away. Many people have offered to adopt the children.

It just goes to show you the positive side of the media in how it can reach a huge audience in a short amount of time to do the maximum good in the world!

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This is the first news story that started the barrage of donations and support for this Afghanistan orphanage:

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Brian Williams interviews one of the older girls in the orphanage benefiting from an education as to her dreams:

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Video: Afghanistans Abusive Marriages Drive Women to Suicide by Fire

From Denny: In a country still in the Stone Age on so many levels, Afghanistan is not winning any high marks in how they treat young women when they marry them. Granted, the average life expectancy is only age 44 here so it goes to the need to marry 13 year old girls. The same was true in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The problem is that 13 year old girls are simply not equipped emotionally or physically for the rigors of adulthood. As young girls they are not prepared for abuse, not knowing which way to turn. Worse, the culture is such that their own family members turn on them, victimizing them repeatedly. When a young married woman complains her husband pimps her out to his friends, trading sex for money, she gets no quarter from the local authorities or her family members.

There are too many horror stories of abuse and tales of extreme amorality to document here today but rest assured that slowly some of these young women are beginning to walk away anyway. Foreign aid agencies have stepped in to help these abandoned and abused women, offering them hope and a new life.

Afghanistan has a long way to go to improve its culture and standing in the world when it comes just to basic human rights for their wives, mothers and daughters. There is so little hope in this country for women. In the end, it will have to be the women who stand up for the women. They must defy tradition and culture in order to survive. One day they will thrive.

Take a look at this video as a French aid doctor is clearly upset at what he treats on a regular basis. Do what you can to help, if only to pray every day for the women in Afghanistan.

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Video: USS New York Ship Built from 911 Salvaged Steel

From Denny: This is a sad reminder of the 2001 terrorism incident that affected the world when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were bombed by 2 airplanes, loaded with jet fuel that burned for days. It's interesting to note that America decided to salvage over 7 tons of steel from the bombing site to help build this naval warship. Like the saying goes, "If it doesn't break you, it makes you strong."

It's captivating to watch the report about such a huge craft. Take a look:

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