samedi 30 mai 2015

Martin O’Malley annonce sa candidature chez les démocrates. Peut-il s'imposer?


Son bilan comme Gouverneur du Maryland n'est pas mauvais et il possède de nombreuses qualités, mais il est peu connu sur la scène nationale. Une bonne alternative si Mme Clinton devait céder le pas? Actuellement il se retrouve derrière un autre candidat qui surprend, le Sénateur du Vermont Bernie Sanders.

 "For now, however, his profile remains equally diminutive—that of a local and state guy who hasn’t quite made the big leap. Despite hovering around the national stage for years—and delivering a decidedly underwhelming speech at the 2012 Democratic convention—O’Malley simply hasn’t caught fire. A Public Policy Polling survey in May had Hillary Clinton leading with 63 percent to 13 percent for Bernie Sanders, 6 percent for Jim Webb, 5 percent for Lincoln Chafee, and just 2 percent for O'Malley. Oddly enough, despite his lingering popularity in the state, only 31 percent of Marylanders think O’Malley should run for president in 2016, according to a statewide Goucher poll (though that is a 12-point increase from the fall 2014, when only 19 percent thought he should run).

None of these grim numbers are disqualifiers, by any means, not at this very early stage. O’Malley has made some forays into early primary states and the signs aren’t bad. In April, he spent a night playing guitar on stage for a packed crowd at Cooney’s, a tavern in Beaverdale, the Des Moines neighborhood where Obama launched his grass-roots strategy in 2008 (and which is still referred to as “Obamadale”). The next night, O’Malley delivered a well-received speech to a record crowd (along with Webb) at the annual Polk County Democrats’ spring awards dinner, bringing the audience to its feet eight times. “He sounded presidential,” says Tom Henderson, chair of the Polk County Democrats. Responding to the Warren phenomenon, O’Malley called for a return to Glass-Steagall in a Des Moines Register op-ed and echoed Warren on fair trade rules for labor, saying he opposes Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership deal because it represents a “chasing of lower wages abroad.”

Lien pour l'article complet:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/martin-omalley-2016-118408_Page2.html#.VWobes9_Oko

 Lien pour un article soulignant les difficultés qu'il rencontre en début de campagne: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/omalleys-long-shot-bid-gets-complicated-start-118442.html?hp=t3_r

vendredi 29 mai 2015

Chronique à "Radio-Canada cet après-midi": candidatures républicaines, Hillary Clinton et l'observatoire du One World Trade Center


La chronique débute à 17h20 sur l'audio fil du 29 mai:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/radio-canada_cet_apres-midi/2014-2015/index.asp

Caricature primaires républicaines: tout le monde peut se présenter? Presque...

Caricature de JOHN DARKOW, COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, MISSOURI 

 Vrai que le nombre de candidatures est très élevé au sein du GOP, mais toutes ces candidatures ne sont pas sérieuses.

Caricature George Pataki nouveau candidat républicain pour la présidentielle 2016

Caricature de JIMMY MARGULIES, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM 

 L'ancien Gouverneur de l'état de New York est le dernier candidat d'une liste qui s'allonge de plus en plus. Pataki dispose-t-il d'atouts intéressants? Dans une élection nationale, oui. Il est très "au centre" pour un républicain (sur l'avortement, les mariages entre conjoints de même sexe et les armes à feu). Comme les primaires débutent en Iowa, mais surtout au New Hampshire qui est un état voisin de New York, Pataki pourrait jouir d'une certaine notoriété au départ. Pour l'instant ses chances sont plutôt minces.

Caricature FIFA et Coupe du monde: les finalistes sont...

Caricature de JIMMY MARGULIES, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

Caricature Joseph Blatter parrain de la MaFIFA...

Caricature de JOHN COLE, THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Caricature FIFA: pas de touche avec les mains...

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

Caricature FIFA et baby-foot

Caricature de STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

vendredi 15 mai 2015

Caricature B.B. King (1925-2015)

Caricature de RANDY BISH, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Caricature B.B. King et Lucille

Caricature de RANDALL ENOS, CAGLE CARTOONS

Caricature B.B. King "The thrill is gone"

Caricature de BILL DAY, CAGLE CARTOONS

Tsarnaev condamné à mort (Boston Globe)


Je ne saurais expliquer pourquoi, mais je croyais qu'on opterait pour la prison à vie. Son avocate avait déjà réussi l'exploit dans des procès controversés, plusieurs témoins le présentaient comme un jeune homme plutôt sympathique mais grandement influencé par son frère plus âgé Tamerlan. Dernièrement un sondage auprès des habitants du Massachusetts indiquaient que 80% d'entre eux préféraient la prison à vie.  L'article du Boston Globe présente également des réactions des victimes.

 "The response to the death sentence was immediate from some of the hundreds of people who were injured.

One of those who turned to social media to share their views was Sydney Corcoran, who was seriously injured along with her mother, Celeste, who lost both legs in the blast.

“My mother and I think that NOW he will go away and we will be able to move on. Justice,’’ Sydney Corcoran wrote on the Twitter account. “In his own words, ‘an eye for an eye.’ “

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement that the “verdict provides a small amount of closure to the survivors, families, and all impacted by the violent and tragic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon.’’

“We will forever remember and honor those who lost their lives and were affected by those senseless acts of violence on our City,’’ Walsh said. “Today, more than ever, we know that Boston is a City of hope, strength and resilience, that can overcome any challenge.”"

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/15/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-death-penalty-sentencing-jury-boston-marathon-bombing/canMEfLmeQJxQ4rFU0sERJ/story.html

B.B. King meurt à 89 ans: article du Rolling Stone Magazine



Je vous laisse le lien pour un bon topo du Rolling Stone et un autre lien pour les 10 meilleures chansons toujours selon Rolling Stone.

   "Blues purists never cared for me. I don't worry about it. I think if it this way: When I made 'Three O' Clock Blues', they were not there. The people out there made the tune. And blues purists just wrote about it. The people is who I'm trying to satisfy."

 Lien pour l'article en entier:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/b-b-king-blues-legend-dead-at-89-20150515

 Les 10 plus grands succès:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/b-b-kings-10-greatest-songs-20150515

B.B. King n'est plus (1925-2015)

Ma passion pour l'histoire américaine se nourrit à de multiples sources et la musique est l'une d'entre elles. J'ai toujours apprécié le blues et je suis un fan de B.B. King depuis bien longtemps. À mes yeux le blues, et B.B. King lui-même, représente une portion importante de l'histoire de nos voisins du sud et on y retrouve le meilleur et le pire du sort réservé aux Noirs américains. B.B. King est né dans les champs de coton du sud avant de migrer vers le nord pour exercer son métier et, surtout, vivre de sa passion.

 J'ai eu la chance de voir et d'entendre B.B. King en spectacle à Québec il y a quelques années et je me souviens que l'expérience m'avait laissé un sentiment partagé. Si j'étais heureux d'assister à la performance de cette légende du blues, j'étais également un peu triste de voir à quel point il était diminué physiquement. Je me demandais ce qui pouvait bien le pousser à continuer ces tournées épuisantes et j'avais l'impression qu'on l'exploitait pour nourrir cette "machine à fric" qui n'est jamais satisfaite... J'étais triste de constater qu'on le roulait sur la scène pour y jouer quelques chansons avant de le rouler de nouveau vers son autocar. J'espère simplement qu'il aimait toujours autant jouer... Je vous laisse un court hommage enregistré sur sa page Facebook par une autre autre légende, Eric Clapton, ainsi qu'une interprétation de "Riding with the king", chanson tirée de l'album du même nom pour lequel Clapton et King s'étaient mérités le Grammy du meilleur album blues traditionnel.

 

mercredi 13 mai 2015

Chronique à "Radio-Canada cet après-midi": Obama le sexiste et le complot de Seymour Hersh


La chronique débute à 15h56 sur l'audio fil du 13 mai:
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/why-obama-is-happy-to-fight-elizabeth-warren-on-118537612596.html

Harriet Tubman le choix de "Women On 20s"!!



 J'ai mentionné sur ce carnet web et lors de chroniques à la radio l'existence de l'initiative "Women on 20s" qui vise à remplacer la figure du Président Andrew Jackson par une figure féminine pour 2020. On souhaite marquer ainsi le centenaire de la reconnaissance du droit de vote pour les femmes américaines. En raison de son histoire bien particulière (ancienne esclave, organisatrice d'un réseau clandestin pour aider les esclaves à fuir les plantations, guide pour les troupes de l'Union pendant la guerre de Sécession) et parce qu,elle illustre plus d'une réalité pour les femmes américaines,  je croyais que Harriet Tubman était le meilleur choix, mais je croyais qu'une des figures plus "rassembleuses" comme celle D'Eleanor Roosevelt ou Rosa Parks (une histoire plus récente) serait retenue. Un bon choix à mon avis...

 Je vous laisse le lien pour le site de "Women on 20s": http://www.womenon20s.org/

Caricature les Américains perdent la foi

Caricature de JIMMY MARGULIES, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM 

 Margulies récupère un sondage récent qui indique que le nombre de croyants est à la baisse aux États-Unis. Beau clin d'oeil pour accompagner l'histoire du deflategate.

Caricature Tom Brady suspendu 4 matchs...

Caricature de DAVE GRANLUND, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

lundi 11 mai 2015

Tom Brady suspendu et Patriots à l'amende: opinion dans le Boston Globe


Après l'annonce des sanctions de la NFL dans le "deflategate" je voulais une réaction des journaux de Boston. Je vous laisse ici la réaction de Dan Shaughnessy du Boston Globe. Un héritage terni...

 "We believe the Patriots always win because they are good, smarter, and better-coached than the other guys. Swell. And most likely true. But now all those vanquished opponents can say, “The Patriots win because they cheat.’’ And the Patriots and their fans have no answers.

The fall of Brady is perhaps the saddest part of the entire matter. Brady (“I would never do anything to break the rules”) looks like he was lying when he spoke to the media the week after the AFC Championship.

It is now established that Brady gained a competitive advantage with his involvement in the deflation of the footballs. It’s a violation of the integrity of the game. Rules were circumvented for a competitive advantage. And Brady has yet to admit anything. His Salem State pep rally with Jim Gray last Thursday looks more ridiculous every hour.

Brady also has made Kraft look like a fool. In his defiant moment in Arizona, Kraft spoke of how Brady and Belichick have never lied to him. One can only wonder what these folks are saying to one another now inside the imposing walls of Fort Foxborough. It’s probably time for some truth and humility from Gillette.

All in all, it just doesn’t get much worse than this, Patriots fans. More fights are in store, no doubt. But no matter what happens next, New England’s precious, hard-fought legacy is tarnished. Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champions have been branded as liars and cheaters."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/05/11/this-will-stick-with-tom-brady-and-patriots-forever/aB5111261JRSONSz17nLUI/story.html

Ben Laden et les États-Unis: aurait-on menti?



Seymour Hersh (photo) remet en question la version officielle de la capture et de l'exécution de Ben Laden. Hersh a déjà publié quelques très bonnes histoires, mais cette fois il y a des doutes au sujet de sa théorie du complot.

 "Hersh earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for exposing the mass killing of civilians in the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam in 1969, and later was credited with helping to expose the abuse of detainees by the U.S. military at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.

 But reporting by Hersh, who stood by his report on Monday, has come under scrutiny in recent years. Peter Bergen, an analyst for CNN and author of a book about the raid, wrote Monday that the new article is a “farrago of nonsense that is contravened by a multitude of eyewitness accounts, inconvenient facts and simple common sense.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/05/11/utter-nonsense-cia-and-white-house-blast-explosive-osama-bin-laden-raid-story/?hpid=z3

vendredi 8 mai 2015

Caricature David Cameron l'emporte...

Caricature de CHRISTO KOMARNITSKI, BULGARIA

Barack Obama au Kenya? Mauvaise idée (Robert I. Rotberg)


La visite du Président Obama dans le pays d'origine de son père serait hautement symbolique, mais l'auteur de cet article croit que c'est une bien mauvaise idée si on considère la feuille de route de l'actuel gouvernement du Kenya. Il suggère d'attendre que le Président Obama ait quitté la Maison Blanche.

 "Kenya (as well as neighboring Tanzania and Uganda) is wildly corrupt. Accusations of graft and sleaze reach high into the upper echelons of the ruling parties in all three countries. Conferring the honor of President Obama’s office on such thoroughly questionable leaders would do little to strengthen our own role as a promoter of good governance and the rule of law. Would Kenyans and other Africans (not to mention Americans at home) not wonder at our policy inconsistencies?

Do President Obama and his advisors realize that the president’s father was a Luo and that the Luo largely backed President Kenyatta’s opponents in the 2012 Kenyan national election? The rift between Luo and Kikuyu (President Kenyatta’s people) dates back to at least Obama’s father’s era when Jomo Kenyatta, Uhuru Kenyatta’s father, ruled Kenya and was opposed by Oginga Odinga. In the last presidential contest, which Uhuru Kenyatta won, his chief opponent was Raila Odinga, son of Oginga Odinga."

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/going-to-kenya-is-a-dumb-idea-mr-president-117737.html?ml=po#.VUzL6_l_NHw

Wall Street à l'époque où on transigeait des esclaves


Topo historique bien intéressant dans les pages du New York Times de ce matin. Il ne faut surtout pas limiter l'impact de l'esclavage aux seuls états du Sud.

 "Of all the commodities traded over time on Wall Street, the one that goes discreetly unmentioned in historical markers is human beings — the anxious throngs of kidnapped slaves that the New York City government routinely rented and auctioned off across half a century at the end of Wall Street at the East River.

This omission seems particularly egregious on a street where the excellent Museum of American Finance currently presents all manner of economic history and profit-building commodities, from railroads to cotton."

 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/opinion/tracking-new-yorks-roots-in-slavery.html?ref=opinion

Économie américaine: 230 000 nouveaux emplois


Non, tout n'est pas parfait, mais les nouvelles sont bonnes pour les Américains.

 "“This was a good and important number,” said Mark Luschini, a chief investment strategist for Janney Capital Management. “It suggests the underlying momentum in the economy is sufficiently strong,” and that performance in the winter was “somewhat anomalous.”

In 13 of the last 14 months, the nation has added at least 200,000 jobs, a period of hiring unmatched in 15 years. But starting this year, the pace of job growth took a modest step back. And in March, it cratered, with only 85,000 positions created — the worst showing since June 2012. The March hiring number initially stood at 126,000, but was revised downward Friday.

Economists now say that the hiring slowdown was likely influenced by a West Coast port strike that choked off supply lines and by a severe winter that kept shoppers and construction crews indoors. In Friday’s data, there was at least one clear sign of the hiring bounce-back: The construction industry added 45,000 jobs in April after losing 9,000 in March."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/08/u-s-to-release-jobs-growth-numbers-for-april/?hpid=z4

jeudi 7 mai 2015

Caricature Texas et signaux cosmiques

Caricature de BILL DAY, FLORIDAPOLITICS.COM

Caricature "Ils sont fous ces Texans!!!"

Caricature de STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE 

 Même le Gouverneur du Texas (il veut faire appel à la garde de l'état!!!) s'est sérieusement prononcé sur cette histoire loufoque d'occupation du Texas par les troupes... Américaines!!!

 Un Texan un brin vexé par la bêtise de certains de ses concitoyens répond avec une touche d'humour mordant:

 "But be not afraid, America. We are Texans. We will resist logic and intelligence to the very end. And we will keep up our traditions. From the Alamo to the Battle of Goliad, the Confederacy, LBJ's Vietnam, George W. Bush's Iraq War, and even Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys, we have a long legacy of losing. And the odds are also against us in the coming Battle of Jade Helm, but we expect to prevail against the invaders, and we will not give up our rights."

  http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/06/opinions/moore-texas-pentagon/index.html

Caricature Tom Brady ne manque pas d'air?

Caricature de NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Caricature NSA et grandes aspirations!

Caricature de NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH 

 Un tribunal a déterminé que la NSA avait dépassé les limites de ses droits selon le Patriot act.

Caricature Texas et théorie du complot

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

Caricature Patriots et partisans: on se dégonfle...

Caricature de RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE

Caricature Tom Brady le tricheur

Caricature de STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Chronique à "Radio-Canada cet après-midi": Texas et complot!


La chronique débute à 16h17 sur l'audio fil du 7 mai:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/radio-canada_cet_apres-midi/2014-2015/index.asp

mercredi 6 mai 2015

Ben Laden caressait d'autres projets ambitieux


Avant d'être exécuté par les Américains, le célèbre leader était toujours actif.

 "The new bin Laden files show that he recognized the opportunities that Arab upheaval offered for al-Qaeda and was moving to exploit them. Al-Qaeda’s main leadership had been rocked by America’s drone war, but the group still had big ambitions, even at a time when U.S. officials said it was buckling.

The bin Laden of these documents is ruminating about big strategic ideas but also micromanaging personnel decisions and counterespionage tactics. In one passage, he admonishes his deputy, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, to pay more attention to climate change that might affect Somalia, a key recruiting area; in another, he proposes sending al-Qaeda recruits to universities to master advanced technologies that could benefit the terror group."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-shortage-of-big-ideas-for-bin-laden-in-his-final-days/2015/05/05/eddbe0c6-f346-11e4-84a6-6d7c67c50db0_story.html?hpid=z2

Caricature Jésus américain

Caricature de PAT BAGLEY, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Caricature concours de caricatures de Mahomet

Caricature de STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Caricature chasse aux djihadistes

Caricature de JOE HELLER, GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE

samedi 2 mai 2015

Vietnam, les derniers jours: les souvenirs de David Hume Kennerly


David Hume Kennerly est un photographe et journaliste qui s'est mérité le prix Pulitzer en 1972. Il a vécu plusieurs moments dramatiques de l'histoire américaine comme l'assassinat de Robert Kennedy, le scandale du Watergate et la fin de la présence américaine au Vietnam.

 "Vietnam became part of my DNA; everything that has happened to me since has been informed by that experience. I was 24, and my first year as a combat photographer was so intense, and there were so many close calls, I really never figured to see 25. When I celebrated that birthday in Saigon, I felt that every one after was a bonus. So far that windfall has added up to an extra 43 years! I have tried to use them well.

I returned to the states in mid-1973 to work for Time magazine. One of my early assignments was the Watergate melee, and I was also assigned to photograph House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the fall of that year. A portrait that I took of Ford ran on the cover of Time when Nixon announced that he would replace Agnew as the new vice president. Time then assigned me to cover Ford full-time. When Nixon resigned, and Ford replaced him, he asked me to be his chief photographer. With that job came total access, not just to the president and his family, but to everything that was going on behind the scenes. It was quite an honor, wildly exciting and one of the most professionally and personally rewarding times of my life.

On March 3, 1975, six months into the Ford presidency, South Vietnam began to unravel when the North Vietnamese army attacked the Central Highlands city of Ban Me Thuot. After a few days of heavy fighting that saw thousands of casualties, particularly among the civilian population, that key city fell to the North Vietnamese. This was the beginning of the end for South Vietnam."

http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2015/04/inside-the-final-days-of-vietnam/002202-031457.html?ml=po#.VUURHvl_Okp

Caricature Baltimore et balance de la justice

Caricature de RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE

Caricature Avengers et nouveau membre?

Caricature de NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH 

 Un clin d'oeil de Beeler à la "Mom of the year", Toya Graham de Baltimore, qui a giflé son fils à plusieurs reprises pour l'inciter à se retirer du groupe d'émeutiers.

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...