DTN News - OBAMA BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN: US President Barack Returns To The White House From A Surprise Trip To Afghanistan And Signed A Strategic Partnership Agreement With President Hamid Karzai

DTN News - OBAMA BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN: US President Barack Returns To The White House From A Surprise Trip To Afghanistan And Signed A Strategic Partnership Agreement With President Hamid Karzai

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: US President Barack Obama walks from Marine One to the White House May 2, 2012 in Washington, DC. 

President Obama was returning from a surprise trip to Afghanistan where he signed a strategic partnership agreement with President Hamid Karzai, visited troops and addressed Americans from Bagram Air Base.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama With Afghan President Hamid Karzai Signed Strategic Partnership Agreement In Kabul

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama With Afghan President Hamid Karzai Signed Strategic Partnership Agreement In Kabul

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: US President Barack Obama (CL) attends a meeting with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai (CR), on May 2, 2012 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The US and Afghan Presidents signed a long-term strategic partnership outlining their cooperation following the 2014 withdrawal of NATO and allied forces. 

Obama made the secret visit to the country on the anniversary of Osama Bin Laden's death and made a primetime tv address to the American people from Bagram Air Base in Kabul.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Obama’s Afghanistan Plan - Echoes of Vietnam In The U.S. Exit Strategy

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Obama’s Afghanistan Plan - Echoes of Vietnam In The U.S. Exit Strategy

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: To understand the historical significance of President Barack Obama’s visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, imagine that President Richard Nixon had, in the spring of 1972, flown to Saigon to signal American voters that the Vietnam war was coming to an end — and to ink a deal with President Nguyen Van Thieu codifying a long-term U.S. relationship with the Republic of South Vietnam, which would shortly be left responsible for its own security. 

“Today, I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries – a future in which Afghans are responsible for the security of their nation, and we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states; a future in which the war ends, and a new chapter begins,” Obama said Tuesday.  Nixon might have said something similar on that imaginary 1972 visit. Except, of course, everyone knew that Vietnam’s future would not be defined by an agreement between Washington and Thieu, as much as by the one signed in Paris, two months after Nixon’s reelection, between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, representing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (a.k.a. “North Vietnam”). Even that deal collapsed, of course, with the DRV and its supporters in the south finishing off the Thieu regime 19 months after U.S. troops withdrew.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Claims The Attack Was A Response To U.S. President Barack Obama's Surprise Visit To Afghanistan - NATO Forces Investigate At The Scene Of Attack

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Claims The Attack Was A Response To U.S. President Barack Obama's Surprise Visit To Afghanistan - NATO Forces Investigate At The Scene Of Attack

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: Soldiers part of the NATO forces investigate the scene at the scene of a militant attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. A suicide car bomber and Taliban militants disguised in burqas attacked a compound housing hundreds of foreigners in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said. 

The Taliban said the attack was a response to President Barack Obama's surprise visit just hours earlier.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Claims The Attack Was A Response To U.S. President Barack Obama's Surprise Visit To Afghanistan - NATO Soldiers Talk Among Themselves

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Claims The Attack Was A Response To U.S. President Barack Obama's Surprise Visit To Afghanistan - NATO Soldiers Talk Among Themselves

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: NATO soldiers talk among themselves as smoke comes out of a compound at the scene of militants' attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. 

A suicide car bomber and Taliban militants disguised in burqas attacked the compound housing hundreds of foreigners in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said.

The Taliban said the attack was a response to U.S. President Barack Obama's surprise visit just hours earlier.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama Greets Troops At Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama Greets Troops At Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 1, 2012:  Secret Service agents stand watch as President Barack Obama greets troops at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. 

President Barack Obama and President Hamid Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, May 2, 2012. The deal insures American military and financial support for the Afghan people for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign combat forces to withdraw.

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama With Afghan President Hamid Karzai Signed Strategic Partnership Agreement In Kabul

DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama With Afghan President Hamid Karzai Signed Strategic Partnership Agreement In Kabul

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 1, 2012: U.S. President Barack Obama puts his arm on Afghan President Hamid Karzai after they signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, May 2, 2012. 

The deal insures American military and financial support for the Afghan people for at least a decade beyond 2014, the deadline for most foreign combat forces to withdraw.
(Photo - Reuters)

Artist of the Month - Madi Spencer

This month's artist is my 10 year old daughter Madi.  Madi loves to create, sing, dance and act.  Today we are going to view some of her artwork and talk about her creative process.  I interviewed Madi last week on take your child to work day.

When  I asked Madi how she knew that she was interested in art, here is what she had to say:


"First I only used to draw stick figures. Then my school counselor said not to draw stick figures, but try to draw to more detailed figures. So, I thought “This is fun.”  Of course, the other person who got me interested in art is my Mom."

Madi began her creating her beautiful and colorful artwork when she was just about 2 years old.  She and I would spend hours together in my jewelry studio.  She loved to paint with watercolors and would sit for a whole afternoon just painting.  As she grew, I introduced her to different techniques and art supplies.  Above is a Zentangle that she created over an alcohol ink painting.

I asked Madi how she comes up with her designs.


"I honestly don’t think about them too hard. I just draw what I want to draw.  For colors, I pick what I like and they usually go together.  For example, I like blue, orange and yellow."

These are Madi's favorite art supplies:  sparkle spray, alcohol inks, Copic markers and Pitt markers.  Madi has joined me in a few lessons from different on line art classes.  Here is a piece that she did for Life Book:

Over the years Madi has participated in many different charity events, selling her wonderful artwork and donating the money to charitable organizations such as Lily's Hope.  I'm so proud of her in so many ways.  I'm proud that she is so dedicated, creative and generous.  I have to say she is the most inspirational person for me personally regarding my own artwork.  She always has something positive and motivational to offer.

Speaking of motivational, some of you may remember Madi's famous quotes.  I asked her how she comes up with such amazing and interesting quotes.

"Well, I take the happy moments in my life and in other people's lives and put them into quotes. Then I think, why is it a happy moment? What is happy about it? And I put it into quotes.  Sometimes I just lie down in the grass and look at the sky, feel the breeze and think of quotes that way."

For those of you who may have missed Madi's quotes in previous posts, here they are again.




So, what does the future hold for this talented girl?  

"I’ve always wanted to be a quadruple threat:  actress, singer, dancer and acrobat.  I plan to try to get famous by practicing all of these talents anywhere I can.  Right now I am taking 5 different dance classes and would like to audition for the FX dance company which is part of my dance studio.  I would like to audition for a commercial when I am older, maybe in 10thor 11th grade.  I don’t want to get famous when I’m young, because that’s just a pain in the butt."
 
"If I didn’t want to be a movie star or a pop star, I’d totally want to be an artist.  My Mom said when I was little, I had so much creativity in me, that I didn’t know how to express it."

 I asked Madi what advice she would give someone who is interested in art, but afraid to try to learn new things.  

"My teacher for dance says, if you try to do a stunt and you are afraid, you will fall.  If you are out there and want to create art but are afraid, just create a piece of art. No one is going to see it, if you want you can even put it in the trash.   Don’t let your worries get the best of you."

 I hope you enjoyed getting to know Madi and her artwork a little better today.  Thanks so much for joining me for the artist of the month post!

"Sometimes we get so caught up in our art, we forget to enjoy the journey." by Madi

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Iran Warns Deployment Of F-22s In UAE Is Harmful And Destabilizing Regional Security


DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Iran Warns Deployment Of F-22s In UAE Is Harmful And Destabilizing Regional Security


(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 1, 2012: Iran's Defence Minister, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, has warned that the basing of the US F-22 Raptor strike aircraft in the United Arab Emirates is "detrimental to regional security."


According to the FARS news agency Vahidi said today that "The deployment of F-22 fighters in a base in the UAE is a harmful move and undermines the security of the region.      


"We consider such (military) presence in the region as to be useless and harmful and more aimed at creating a psychological ploy and an insecure atmosphere in the region. We don't see it useful" Vahidi told Al Alam TV network, according to FARS.


Vahidi said that guaranteeing security in region is possible only through cooperation among all the regional states. 


The comments by the Iranian minister came after media reports revealed that the US has recently deployed its F-22 Raptors at the UAE Al Dafra Air Base.
In a comment, FARS said that Iranian officials have always cautioned about the devastating consequences of tension in the region, and called on certain regional states to be "watchful of the plots of some aliens who seek to stir tension in this sensitive region."


It said: "Tehran believes that deployment of trans-regional powers in the region impairs security and is a source of tension in the region, reiterating that regional peace and security will be established if all the regional countries grow united and stage all-out cooperation."


http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/05/dtn-news-defense-news-iran-warns.html