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  • Richard A. Lipski/AP

    Bugler Army Sgt. Major Woodrow English plays taps during burial ceremony of Sen. Edward Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Kennedy, 77, died Tuesday, Aug. 25, more than a year after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

    Everyone can identify with how difficult it is to lose someone in his or her family, but can you imagine having to grieve on a public stage? How lucky it was that events ran late so the Kennedys could have some privacy from our peering eyes as they were shrouded in darkness while saying their final goodbyes to a man they loved.

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  • Dominic Favre/EPA

    A huge water jet of 350m length throwing 20,000 liters of water per second at a speed of 360 kmh into the Geneva Lake, in front of the Castle of Chillon, during a test of the Forces Motrices Hongrin-Leman, FMHL, in Veytaux near Montreux Switzerland, 29 August 2009.

    This impressive valve test takes place only once every ten years.

  • Jason Redmond/AP

    A helicopter make a water drop as firefighters battle the Station wildfire burning in the Angeles National Forest northeast of downtown Los Angeles on Firday, Aug. 28, 2009. The Los Angles Sheriff's Department says a voluntary evacuation is being urged for nearly 900 homes in the La Canada Flintridge area. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

    This picture struck me, as it looks as though ashes are being dropped on the fire.

  • Natacha Pisarenko/AP

    Tango dancers prepare backstage to complete at the qualifying rounds of the 7th Tango Dance World Championship in Buenos Aires, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009.

    This didn't make the final cut this week for The Week in Pictures, but I still find it intriguing. It looks a bit like an old movie still to me. Sometimes the better pictures are made behind-the-scenes.

  • David Goldman/

    "One thing I like to carry with me that my Dad gave to me is a across with his dog tag and the one my Grand Dad had too. I carry it with me on every mission and it brings me good luck. It lets me know that my Dad and my Grand Dad are both with me and plus Jesus Christ my lord and savior is there with me, on every mission, every day." SPC Sam Garvin, 22, of Middleburg, Fla., with the U.S. Army's 2nd Platoon, 10th Mountain Division, U.S. Army, on his first deployment in Afghanistan, April 2009.

    During an embed with the U.S. Army this spring, photojournalist David Goldman talked to soldiers about what mementos from home they carry into battle. For some, it's a photo to remind them of loved ones. For others, it's a toy that brings luck or a feeling of protection. To hear their stories, click on the link below in the comments.

  • /AP file

    In this April 11, 1938 photo, Teddy Kennedy, center, and his sister Jean attend the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, London, as their father, the new American ambassador, Joseph Kennedy, paid a call on the king.

    A very young Ted Kennedy with what looks like a Kodak Brownie camera. I'm glad he didn't grow up to be a photographer, since he was such an effective Senator. What do you think of his legacy?

  • /AP File

    In an Oct. 14, 1970, file photo Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., speaks at the dedication ceremonies of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center in Waltham, Mass. Kennedy, has died after battling a brain tumor his family announced early Wednesday Aug. 26, 2009.

    Death of Ted Kennedy

    American political icon Ted Kennedy passed away late Tuesday. We'd like to hear your thoughts on his career and the Kennedy legacy.

  • Emmanuel Dunand/AFP - Getty Images

    Santa Claus and New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes join the Rockettes on 6th Avenue in front of Radio City Music Hall in New York. The street show was organized to launch the 2009 Radio City Christmas Spectacular

    It takes a lot of guts to make a fool of yourself with the Rockettes. He could get injured trying a move like that.

  • Stelios Varias/Reuters

    A girl tries to get the attention of a prairie dog from inside a glass enclosure at an exhibit at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, Michigan, August 24, 2009.

    How about a zoo where the people are in the cages? That's not the case here, but it sure looks like it.

  • /

    A display of items used in the "shake-and-bake" method of manufacturing methamphetamine is shown at the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics in Oklahoma City. (AP)

    Like hot dogs, meth doesn't seem like such a bad idea until you see how it's made. Acetone? Muratic acid? Starting fluid, matches and lithium batteries? Are you serious?

  • Abbas Momani/AFP - Getty Images

    A Palestinian protester runs for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israel's controversial separation barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin, near Ramallah, on August 21, 2009.

    I imagine it takes a great deal of courage to stand up for what you believe when you're fighting against resistance like this.

  • Todd Heisler/Rocky Mountain News

    August, 2005: When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.

    We just released "10 years of The Week in Pictures." I asked the editing team which pictures weren't included The Week in Pictures, but should have been. This picture by Todd Heisler, from a Pulitzer Prize-winning project, was high on the list. We'll post some links and more information on the project in the comments thread, and we want to hear from you: Are there pictures you think we missed?

  • Miguel Villagran/Getty Images

    The hand of a surfer is pictured as he falls in to the Eisbach river on August 20, 2009 in Munich, Germany.

    This reminds me of my last kayaking experience. I was surprised to read that the guy was actually surfing - in a river.

  • Jim Seida/msnbc.com

    An Amish farmer cuts alfafa using four horses pulling a gas-powered haybine in Middlebury, Indiana on Monday, August 10, 2009.

    I was assigned to photograph the Amish for a story in msnbc.coms Elkhart Project. The Amish wont pose for pictures their church forbids it. But, some Amish folks in Elkhart County told me that if I shot pictures without the subjects knowing that their picture was being taken, that that would be okay. I felt like the paparazzi.

  • /Reuters

    A wild horse is hurtled through the air after being struck by a rally car during the Argentine Rally in Rio Negro, Argentina on Monday. According to the Daily Contributor, Argentine driver Federico Villagra and his passenger escaped uninjured, but the badly injured horse had to be put down.

    I was surprised that there are no measures in place to prevent senseless accidents like this.

  • Achmad Ibrahim/AP

    Indonesian men climb greased poles to retrieve prizes such as bicycles and rice cookers as part of an Independence Day celebration Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

    What prize would make you climb a greased pole? I think it'd have to be something other than a rice cooker, for me.

  • Robert F. Bukaty/AP

    A curious golden retriever wades into a tide pool to see what a photographer is shooting, Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at Pond Cove in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The cove, which is part of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust's Robinson Woods, is a popular place to explore the marine ecosystem at low tide.

    Here is your weekend dose of lightheartedness!

  • Robert F. Bukaty/AP

    Mike Cianchette, operations manager of the Stetson Mountain wind project, checks his safety line before making inspections on top of a 300-foot tall windmill in rural Maine.

    Mike has quite a view from his office.

  • Roberto Serra/Iguana Press via Getty Images

    Brother of Michele Norelli, a victim of the helicopter crash in New York, gives his brother's widow, Silvia Rigamonti Norelli, the wedding ring of her husband, at a prayer service open to the public at Certosa Cemetary on August 13, 2009 in Bologna, Italy.

    There we other pictures from this event, but this moment of the widow receiving her husband's wedding ring, was particularly poignant to me.

  • Denis Balibouse/Reuters

    A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky, north of Geneva, late August 12. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

    I look forward to the Perseid meteor shower every August. It reminds me of how small our world is.

  • Carlos Barria/Reuters

    A U.S. soldier takes a break during a night mission near Honaker Miracle camp at the Pesh valley of Kunar Province on August 12.

    This picture makes me feel tired.

  • Emilio Morenatti/AP

    An Afghan border police officer in Spin Boldak guards in a post overlooking the neighbouring Pakistani city of Chaman, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug 10, 2009.

    Very sad news today. Photographer Emilio Morenatti who's been working in Afghanistan, was severely injured in a roadside bomb. I just added this beautiful image of his to our slideshow yesterday.

  • Timothy A. Clary/AFP - Getty Images

    Tiger Woods practices before the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

    Seeing this image makes me reminisce on the summer vacations of my teenage years, teeing off most days at 7:00 a.m. at Pheasant Run golf course in Maple Grove, Minn., not too far from where Tiger is playing today.

  • Phil Walter/Getty Images

    An aerial view of The Great Barrier Reef on August 7 in Cairns, Australia. A recent report by marine scientist Charlie Veron claims that the reef will be so degraded by warming seas that it will be gone within 20 years, and that this situation is now irreversible.

    Would you be willing to give up anything to save the Great Barrier Reef? Are you willing to sacrifice anything to save any coral reefs?

  • Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

    A cemetery is seen during a hot air balloon flight near Bristol in western England on August 7.

    I enjoy it when a photographer sees a common thing in a way that I've never seen before. Well done Stefan Wermuth.

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