jeudi 28 novembre 2013

Un majorité d'américains croient qu'on corrigera les problèmes d'Obamacare


Sondage intéressant de CNN et ORC International autour des problèmes de l'Affordable care act. 54% de nos voisins du sud sont optimistes quand aux chances de corriger les problèmes rencontrés depuis le départ. 60% des américains s'opposent toujours à la loi si chère au Président, mais le sondage révèle que plusieurs s'y opposent parce qu'elle n'est pas assez progressiste.

 Lien pour le sondage:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/11/27/rel13i.pdf

Vatican et ambassade américaine prise 2: Jeb Bush doute d'Obama!


Une fois de plus je serais tenter d'utiliser le vieil adage selon lequel le ridicule ne tue pas... Jeb Bush, membre de la célèbre famille, ancien gouverneur de la Floride et possible candidat à la présidentielle 2016, joint les rangs de ceux qui croient que le Président Obama a peut-être voulu "punir" les catholiques en "fermant" (ce qui est faux, on la déplace) l'ambassade américaine. J'expliquais dans un autre billet que la décision est budgétaire et qu'on économiserait en regroupant l'ambassade d'Italie et celle du Vatican dans des bâtiments séparés mais près l'un de l'autre. Même le Vatican a peu réagit à la nouvelle. Jeb Bush est considéré comme un politicien crédible... Jusqu'où va-t-il s'abaisser pour courtiser une portion de l'électorat?

 "The State Department attributed the move to increased security and cost savings, of up to $1.4 million a year in lease and operating costs.

 Nevertheless, the National Republican Senatorial Committee created a petition this week that say “President Obama plans to close the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/jeb-bush-obama-vatican-100468.html?hp=f3

Obama blague et accorde un pardon présidentiel à Popcorn et caramel!

Chronique à Radio-Canada cet après-midi: Thanskgiving et les Obamas irlandais!

En cette journée de BBM favorables, la chronique début à 17h05 sur l'audio fil du 28 novembre: http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/radio-canada_cet_apres-midi/2013-2014/index.asp

mercredi 27 novembre 2013

Vatican: relocaliser l'ambassade américaine, un geste contre la religion?


Dans la catégorie perte de temps... Les réactions les plus vives à cette décision qui permettra d'économiser plus d'un million de dollars par année proviennent de républicains. Ces derniers n'insistent pas sur les économies, sujet majeur à leurs yeux, mais bien sur le caractère prétendument anti-religieux du geste!

 "The media is reporting that President Obama plans to close the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican," the page reads. "This is just the latest anti-religion pursuit of this Administration, a slap in the face to Catholic-Americans around the country that weakens America’s position as a global leader."

  http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/republicans-much-more-offended-by-vatican-embassy-closure-than-the-vatican

Caricature Berlusconi dehors!


Caricature de ARCADIO ESQUIVEL, LA PRENSA, PANAMA, WWW.CAGLECARTOONS.COM

 Berlusconi aurait-il épuisé toutes ses vies politiques? Il a été déchu de son poste de sénateur.

Les Obamas d'Irlande: des retombées pour un petit cousin!


Henry Healy et sa famille ont été en mesure de retracer les origines irlandaises de Barack Obama dont un lointain parent vivait à Moneygall. Si la campagne Obama ne s'est pas privée de photographier le Président buvant une Guiness avec sa famille irlandaise (beaucoup d'américains sont des descendants d'irlandais), cette dernière bénéficie largement de ses liens avec le premier Président noir des États-Unis. Vous vous souvenez peut-être de la chanson "There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama", populaire en 2008 et adaptée aussi pour la campagne 2012? Je vous laisse cette interprétation ici.
 

 "Still, in Moneygall, Healy is mostly considered the boy who made good. At a time when the rest of rural Ireland is struggling, the village is thriving thanks to post-Obama tourism. “He deserves any fame that he ever gets,” says James Treacy, the local plumber for whom Healy worked until last year—a man who has known Healy “since he was a wee boy.” The president’s cousin lives modestly with his mother and sister and spends most weekends with his childhood friends. “He doesn’t have big, squeaky shoes,” as Treacy puts it.

 But his newfound notoriety has some suggesting he would be a natural in the family business of politics. At Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street, Dublin’s main drag, Healy talks with ease about American current affairs, bringing up the recent elections of Irish-Americans Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race and Marty Walsh in Boston’s mayoral contest. And he certainly looks the part, wearing a gray suit, purple tie and white shirt, along with silver cufflinks in the shape of New Zealand’s north and south islands—a gift from a Kiwi contestant in an Irish diaspora beauty pageant held in County Kerry. (The day after we speak, Healy is competing himself—improbably—for the title of Ireland’s most stylish man.) Healy already lives the life of a quasi-politician in permanent campaign mode: He spends most of his time crisscrossing the island, promoting IrelandXO.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/letter-from-moneygall-obama-cousin-ireland-100418_Page2.html

Obamacare peut fonctionner.


Enfin de bonnes nouvelles pour l'Affordable health law...

 "There are states that are running their own websites and enrolling a lot of people, way more than the amateur-hour federal website that serves most of the states. Medicaid enrollment, another part of the law, is going significantly better than the signups for private insurance — nearly 400,000 people were determined to be eligible in October. (Understanding Obamacare: POLITICO's guide to the Affordable Care Act)

And nationally, 1.5 million people applied for health coverage in October — suggesting that there’s a lot more potential interest than the 106,000 who got all the way through the federal and state Obamacare websites to select a private health plan.

 So what do the bright spots tell us about the future of Obamacare? They certainly don’t tell us that the rollout is going well. But they do suggest that it’s not impossible for the law to work, health care experts say — because if it really were impossible, it wouldn’t be working anywhere.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/obamacare-state-success-100338.html?hp=t1

Caricature John Kerry et Javad Zarif: confiance mutuelle!

Caricature de TAYLOR JONES, EL NUEVO DIA, PUERTO RICO

Caricature Iran et leçon républicaine!

Caricature de DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

Caricature vendredi noir: protection requise!

Caricature de DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

Maison Blanche et propagande?


Papier intéressant de Dana Milbank du Washington Post. L'auteur constate que la Maison Blanche autorise de moins en moins de photographes à croquer sur le vif le Président lors d'événements officiels, préférant confier ce travail à des photographes employés par la Maison Blanche. La photo qui coiffe cette entrée est l'une des plus célèbres prise par un de ces employés (Peter Souza). Contrôle de l'image...

 "The most famous of the photo press releases was the image from the White House Situation Room on the day U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden; the image was digitally altered so that material on the table in front of the secretary of state could not be seen.

 Maybe that alteration was an exception. And photojournalists don’t expect to be granted access to the Situation Room. But the doctored image raises the question of whether other photo releases are altered, too; in the age of Photoshop, it’s easy — at the start of the year, Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s staff (clumsily) altered a group photo of Democratic women in Congress to add four absent members. And often, it’s undetectable.

 I asked Pete Souza, a White House photographer, whether other photos of his have been altered. He sent me to deputy press secretary Josh Earnest, who said that altering photos would be done only to protect classified information and that he didn’t know of other instances. He defended the photo releases generally, telling reporters, “There are certain circumstances where it is simply not feasible to have independent journalists in the room when the president is making decisions.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-obamas-white-house-takes-image-control-to-a-new-level/2013/11/26/13b95c20-56da-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_story.html?hpid=z2

George Zimmerman avait cinq armes au moment de son arrestation


Depuis qu'il a été acquitté du meurtre de Trayvon martin Zimmerman semble se placer bien souvent dans des situations qui nécessitent l'intervention des policiers. Plus tôt ce mois-ci la police l'arrêtait dans une affaire de violence conjugale. Zimmerman aurait menacé sa petite amie avec une arme.

 "A search warrant made public by the Seminole County court clerk shows that Zimmerman had a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns when he was arrested Nov. 18 at his girlfriend's house. The girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, told deputies that Zimmerman pointed a shotgun at her during an argument and also used it to smash her coffee table."

  http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/zimmerman-had-five-guns-100-rounds-of-ammunition-at-time-of-domestic-violence-arrest

Hamid Karzaï: un pari audacieux


Le Président Hamid Karzaï a ignoré l'avis de son entourage et refusé de signer une entente avec les États-Unis concernant les négociations sur la sécurité. Non seulement Kazaï refuse-t-il de signer, il ajoute même de nouvelles conditions. Il y a peu la conseillère à la sécurité national Susan Rice affirmait que les États-Unis pourraient envisager de ne laisser aucun homme sur le terrain après 2014. Karzaï n'y croit pas... 

Un extrait:

 "He smirked, then said: “The U.S. has come and will not go, brother. It does not go. Therefore, ask for your demands and don’t worry.”

 That unguarded moment in front of a friendly audience speaks volumes about the impasse between Mr. Karzai and his American allies.

 In the face of a warning delivered in person on Monday by the national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, that the United States would consider leaving no troops at all in Afghanistan past 2014 if Mr. Karzai did not promptly sign a long-term security agreement, he has made it clear that he considers it a bluff. Not only did he refuse to sign, he added conditions, including the release of all inmates from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp."

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/world/middleeast/karzais-bet-us-is-bluffing-on-warning-on-security-pact.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131127

Livre de prière des Puritains publié en 1640 vendu pour 14 millions


Ce livre détenait déjà le record de la plus vieille publication en anglais en Amérique. Il devient maintenant le livre le plus cher vendu aux enchères. La copie appartenait à une congrégation religieuse mais se trouvait à la Boston Public Library pour assurer sa préservation. L'acheteur désire prêter le livre à des musées.

 "The copy that was sold on Tuesday had belonged to Boston’s Old South Church. Over the years, its congregation has included Samuel Adams, the colonial patriot who was a cousin of President John Adams, and Elizabeth Vergoose, a printer’s wife who is thought to be the Mother Goose of the nursery rhymes. Its ministers included Thomas Prince, the grandson of the last governor of Plymouth Colony."

  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/nyregion/book-published-in-1640-makes-record-sale-at-auction.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131127

Caricature Obama et la grâce présidentielle du Thanksgiving

Caricature de NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Caricature Iran et diplomatie: réaction nucléaire

Caricature de ADAM ZYGLIS, THE BUFFALO NEWS

B-52 américains dans la zone aérienne chinoise



La zone aérienne a récemment été mise en place par la Chine et elle est dénoncée par Taïwan, le Japon et la Corée du sud. Les États-Unis affirment que cette zone est toujours ouverte et ils n'ont pas envoyé le plan de vol, condition exigée par la Chine.

 "A senior Pentagon official said that the mission overnight Monday from Guam “was a demonstration of long-established international rights to freedom of navigation and transit through international airspace.” The official said the unilateral Chinese declaration of expanded control “was provocative,” and “only increases the risk of miscalculation in the region.”

 There was no immediate Chinese response to the flights conducted without prior notification as demanded under the new declaration from Beijing, which asserted the right to identify, monitor and possibly take military action against any aircraft that enter the area. The unexpected announcement by China was among its boldest moves yet in a struggle for power in Asia with the United States, and by extension its regional allies including Japan. The United States, long the dominant power in the region, has been scrambling to shore up its influence there, promising, in what it called a “pivot” to Asia in 2011, to refocus its energies after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan diverted its time and resources."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/world/asia/us-flies-b-52s-into-chinas-expanded-air-defense-zone.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131127&_r=0

mardi 26 novembre 2013

Caricature Thanksgiving d'hier à aujourd'hui

Caricature de JOHN COLE, THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Le Pape et Anonymous: même combat?

Caricature de TOM JANSSEN, THE NETHERLANDS

Caricature cellulaires dans les avions: attention aux textos

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

Bouddha: des fouilles archéologiques apportent un nouvel éclairage



Situer l'origine de Bouddha dans le temps et dans l'espace était déjà une une question controversée. Les résultats des fouilles d'une équipe d'archéologues apportent un éclairage nouveau.

 "Until now, archaeological evidence favored a date no earlier than the third century B.C., when the Emperor Asoka promoted the spread of Buddhism through South Asia, leaving a scattering of shrines and inscriptions to the man who became “the enlightened one.” A white temple on a gently sloping plateau at Lumbini, 20 miles from the border with India, draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year to read a sandstone pillar documenting Asoka’s homage at the Buddha’s birthplace.

 But new excavations by archaeologists at Lumbini have uncovered evidence of a much earlier timber shrine and brick structures above it — all of which lay beneath the temple that is a Unesco World Heritage site long identified as the birthplace. Dating fragments of charcoal and grains of sand, researchers determined that the lower structures were erected as early as the sixth century B.C.

 The international team of archaeologists said the lower structures were laid out on the same design as the more recent temple. The timber shrine even had an open space in the center that suggested a link to the Buddha’s nativity tradition. Deep tree roots in the center space may even have been from the tree his mother presumably held on to.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/science/new-clues-may-change-buddhas-date-of-birth.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131126

La famille américaine: une définition qui évolue


À l'approche du Thanksgiving, fête familiale par excellence aux États-Unis, le New York Times se penche sur l'évolution de la famille. On en arrive à un profil particulièrement varié et souvent surprenant.

 "Researchers who study the structure and evolution of the American family express unsullied astonishment at how rapidly the family has changed in recent years, the transformations often exceeding or capsizing those same experts’ predictions of just a few journal articles ago.

 “This churning, this turnover in our intimate partnerships is creating complex families on a scale we’ve not seen before,” said Andrew J. Cherlin, a professor of public policy at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s a mistake to think this is the endpoint of enormous change. We are still very much in the midst of it.”

 La suite:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131126

Sandy Hook: un rapport qui donne froid dans le dos.


Près d'un an après la tragédie de Newtown (école Sandy Hook), le procureur de l'état Stephen J. Sedensky III divulguait le contenu d'un rapport de 48 pages. La présentation du tueur et les détails de la tuerie ne permettent toujours pas de comprendre pourquoi Adam Lanza a tué sa mère avant de se concentrer sur l'école primaire. On constate cependant à quel point le jeune était perturbé dans les mois qui ont précédé le triste événement.

 " Adam Lanza spent the final months of his life mostly alone in his bedroom. His windows were covered with black trash bags. He was preoccupied with violent video games and created a spreadsheet of some of the worst massacres in American history.

Mr. Lanza refused to speak even to his mother, communicating with her only by email, even though their bedrooms shared the same floor of their house on Yogananda Street.

 He would not eat unless his food was arranged in a particular way on his plate. He hated birthdays and holidays, and forbade his mother from putting up a Christmas tree.

 He also made her get rid of a cat he did not like.

 No one else was allowed into his room, including his mother, who nevertheless did her son’s laundry daily because he changed his clothes often.

 Among their few outings together were trips to the shooting range. She planned to buy him a gun for Christmas last year.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/nyregion/sandy-hook-shooting-investigation-ends-with-motive-still-unknown.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131126&_r=0

Caricature Iran et entente: inversion des rôles

Caricature de BRIAN ADCOCK, THE SCOTLAND

Caricature dinde et gras trans: joyeux Thanksgiving!

Caricature de MILT PRIGGEE, WWW.MILTPRIGGEE.COM

lundi 25 novembre 2013

Caricature Thanksgiving à l'ère des médias sociaux

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

Caricature Iran et programme nucléaire: une entente satisfaisante?

Caricature de PARESH NATH, THE KHALEEJ TIMES, UAE

Mourir dans la dignité: ce que pensent les américains des soins de fin de vie



Autre beau sondage du Pew research Center. Si au Québec nous discutons de l'aide médicale à mourir, les américains y songent aussi. Fait intéressant à noter, la position évolue depuis 1990 et une minorité croissante de gens croient que les médecins devraient faire tout en leur possible pour sauver un patient et ce, peu importe les circonstances. L'article intègre également la question des croyances religieuses à la réflexion. 

"Meanwhile, the public remains closely divided on the issue of physician-assisted suicide: 47% approve and 49% disapprove of laws that would allow a physician to prescribe lethal doses of drugs that a terminally ill patient could use to commit suicide. Attitudes on physician-assisted suicide were roughly the same in 2005 (when 46% approved and 45% disapproved)." Un article qui mérite un petit détour:

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/11/21/views-on-end-of-life-medical-treatments/

Caricature entente Iran-États-Unis: que des heureux?

Caricature de TOM JANSSEN, THE NETHERLANDS

Tempête majeure pour Thanksgiving?


La pause du Thanksgiving est une des périodes les plus actives pour les voyages, que ce soit par voie terrestre ou dans les airs. Une tempête qui a affecté la côte ouest dans les deux derniers jours pourraient modifier les plans de plusieurs voyageurs.

 "The wicked wintry weather that pummeled the West Coast is now barreling across the country, threatening to wreck millions of holiday travel plans just before Thanksgiving.

The storm has already contributed to at least 10 traffic fatalities. Nearly 400 flights have been canceled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area -- not exactly a bastion for snowstorms. Sleet and freezing rain will keep blanketing parts of the Southern Plains and Southern Rockies on Monday.

 And after the storm deluges parts of the South with rain Monday evening, it'll start zeroing in on the Northeast, the National Weather Service said. And that could spell more travel nightmares.

 It's not just the bad timing that has travelers riled up. In many of the places, this kind of weather isn't supposed to happen.

 http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/25/us/weather-thanksgiving/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Nucléaire iranien: un monde plus sécuritaire. Pour l'instant...


Plusieurs articles dans les journaux ce matin commentent l'entente survenue hier. Bonne ou mauvaise? Précaire à tout le moins, mais elle permet d'acheter du temps.

" Even though the temporary agreement does not achieve permanent and total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, no one can seriously argue that it doesn’t make the world safer. It would freeze key aspects of Iran’s program for six months and lay the ground for negotiating a comprehensive, permanent deal. The alternatives are ratcheting up sanctions and possible military action, with no assurance that those steps would stop Iran’s nuclear advances. A negotiated solution is unquestionably better; it is alarming to hear Israeli politicians reject it in extremist terms and threaten unspecified unilateral action.

 The deal buys time to work on a long-term solution that constrains Iran’s nuclear program and guarantees that it is put to peaceful use. That will be even harder to achieve, and the risks will be even greater, if negotiations fail. It is crucial that talks on the next phase begin very soon since the next six months will fly by."

 Suite de l'article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/opinion/getting-to-yes-with-iran.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131125&_r=0

vendredi 22 novembre 2013

Abraham Zapruder est demeuré hanté par son film



Zapruder aura des cauchemars sur une longue période après avoir filmé l'assassinat.

 "Even amid the privation and anti-Semitism of his youth, he said he had never seen such a thing — a man “shot down like a dog,” he would say later.

 The scene would haunt him. He had a nightmare that first evening: He was in New York’s Times Square. A guy in a sharp suit stood on the sidewalk outside a movie theater hawking his film: Come in and see the president killed on the big screen!

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/as-he-filmed-abraham-zapruder-knew-instantly-that-president-kennedy-was-dead/2013/11/20/c2ed8422-4bd2-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html?hpid=z1

Facebook, politique et vie privée


Un candidat à la Chambre des représentants pour le Minnesota doit gérer les retombées de la publication de vielles photos qui se retrouvaient sur Facebook. Lorsqu'on dit qu'il faut être prudent avec ce qu'on met en ligne...

 "A Republican congressional candidate in Minnesota looks like the life of the party in a series of photos published Friday.

 In the photos, which were obtained by City Pages, Stewart Mills is shown guzzling from a beer bong and licking the lips of a woman who isn't his wife. According to City Pages, the beer bong photos were posted on his wife's Facebook page in 2009.

 The photo of him licking the other woman was taken at a 2008 Christmas party and was "still publicly viewable on Facebook" when City Pages posted it, but it has since been taken down. It's unclear who posted the photo on Facebook.

 Mills, who is the likely challenger next year to Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN) in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, said in a statement that it's "no secret that in the past I've let my hair down to have fun with family and friends."

 http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gop-house-candidate-photographed-hitting-beer-bong-licking-woman

Caricature ask not...

Caricature de JEFF DARCY, THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

Caricature Hunger games: fiction ou... Réalité?

Caricature de DAVE GRANLUND, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

Caricature Dallas 1963: la fin de l'innocence

Caricature de PATRICK CHAPPATTE, THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Caricature la malédiction du second mandat: l'avis des historiens

Caricature de DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

Caricature JFK avant et après

Caricature de TAYLOR JONES, EL NUEVO DIA, PUERTO RICO

Caricature Rob Ford le film...

Caricature de Nate Beeler, The Columbus Dispatch

Les caricaturistes américains s'y intéressent encore un peu..

Caricature "Nuclear option": moment historique au Sénat

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

jeudi 21 novembre 2013

L'Amérique de JFK: une époque bien différente selon le Pew Research Center



Article très intéressant du Pew Research Center. Comment les américains voyaient-ils leur pays en 1963? Une petite mine de renseignements et d'anecdotes.

 Un extrait:

 "As America marks the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death, his life, family, strengths and weakness have been pored over in recent weeks, but little has been said about how the public viewed the country during the Kennedy years. The Gallup polls of that period illustrate how different a time this was. The mood of America then had few parallels with the modern era.

 First, as 1963 began, Americans were pretty upbeat in any number of ways:

 Having survived the Cuban Missile Crisis, they were confident about their country – 82% thought America’s power would increase in 1963! And most (63%) thought it possible that the West could achieve a peaceful relationship with Russia.

 Americans were remarkably internationalist. Gallup1 found 82% of the public thinking it would be better if US worked with other nations.Just 10% said keeping independent was the right course. No fewer than 87% favored the common market. They even liked foreign aid – 58% said they were for it. Can you imagine?

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/11/20/jfks-america/

Caricature assassinat de JFK: liste de suspects

Caricature d'ERIC ALLIE, CAGLECARTOONS.COM

Caricature JFK et 9/11: deux générations, deux drames...

Caricature de DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

Caricature A-Rod drama queen? Un arbitrage émotif.

Caricature de JIMMY MARGULIES, THE RECORD OF HACKENSACK, NJ

Les Tours de Laliberté migrent: rejoignez-moi sur le site du Journal de Québec et du Journal de Montréal

Depuis un certain temps je me demandais comment faire évoluer mon petit carnet web. La réponse m'est parvenue par le biais d'u...