Tyra Banks and Hillary Clinton Gist on Pop Culture

Read an excerpt from "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton"

NEWSWEEK: Cover: Hillary Clinton: 'I Found My Own Voice.'

NEWSWEEK: Cover: Hillary Clinton: 'I Found my own Voice.'

"What I realized is that the reason I do this, why I get up every day, why I believe in our country and the importance of leadership, was not getting across the way that I wanted it to," Clinton tells Newsweek.

Editor Jon Meacham on Hillary, Race and Gender

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ --

In the January 21 issue, "'I found my own voice.'" (on newsstands Monday, January 14) Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham examines Hillary Clinton's dramatic comeback win in New Hampshire and whether the battle for the Democratic nomination is one that will be determined by the historically complicated issues of race and gender.


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080113/NYSA004 )


To say it is late in the game for a major politician to have found one's voice is too glib, Meacham writes. Many public figures are works in progress, and they are all certainly human. Clinton's primary victory is a new chance for voters to get to know her beyond the caricatures, positive and negative, that have so long defined her. "Everyone forgets she went to law school when women were not 50 percent of each law-school class, and certainly not seen as litigators," says Maria Echaveste, a senior adviser to Clinton's campaign. "When you were breaking down walls, it wasn't enough to be equally tough. You had to build a shell to protect yourself. That's what she did."


That shell cracked a bit in New Hampshire, Meacham writes, and Clinton now believes it has to stay cracked. "What I realized is that the reason I do this, why I get up every day, why I believe in our country and the importance of leadership, was not getting across the way that I wanted it to," Clinton told Newsweek about Iowa.


She continued, "I get so focused on what I want to do as president that I get a little wonky. I get a little out there, with details, with five-point plans for this and 10-point plans for that, and I think that what I'm proposing really is both achievable and important, but it's not what gets me up, so why should it get voters excited?" she says. "But in the presidential campaign I think I sort of pocketed too much of that. I thought, well, I've been in the public eye for so long now ... I don't think that was a smart assumption for me to make, or for my campaign to make, very honestly."


This is not the year for making any assumptions. Meacham reports that many Democrats have been waiting a lifetime for a viable female presidential candidate or a viable black one -- and now they have one of each, and in the aftermath of Iowa and New Hampshire, the two camps are fighting over a great deal more than just endorsements. "I understand that," Clinton tells Meacham in an interview last Friday. "What a good problem to have. Two leading candidates for president, a woman and an African-American ... I wish it didn't have to be a choice. I think a lot of people who are torn between us feel that way," she says.


"Torn is a tough word," Meacham writes. "But it aptly captures how many Americans, and not just Democrats, already feel about 2008 ... And these are early days: we are only just beginning to grapple with the questions of race and gender that the campaign will raise again and again through November." The campaign now moving out of the largely white states of Iowa and New Hampshire to the rest of the country will soon mean that the politically engaged across America will be presented with the likelihood that a woman or an African- American will be the Democratic nominee and perhaps the president. And, as Clinton says, it's a good "problem" for America to have, he reports.


"But this is a contest," Clinton says, "and the contrasts have to be drawn and the questions have to be asked because, obviously, I wouldn't be in this race and working as hard as I am unless I thought I am uniquely qualified at this moment in our history to be the president we need starting in 2009. And I think it is informed by my deep experience over the last 35 years, my firsthand knowledge of what goes on inside a White House."


Also in the interview, Clinton discussed issues that ranged from her childhood in suburban Park Ridge, Ill., to John Wesley, Reinhold Niebuhr, Martin Luther King Jr. and, of course, Barack Obama. When asked if Senator Obama is right enough or experienced enough to be vice president, Clinton tells Meacham, "Well, I'm going to stay focused on where I am right now. I'm an admirer of his; I campaigned for him; I raised money for him... I am a very big admirer of his, and I think the sky is the limit for him -- in the future. [Laughs.]"


Also in the cover package:
-- Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe and Chicago
Correspondent Karen Springen report on the reality of Barack Obama's
central claim as a candidate -- that he is a change agent, a lifelong
reformer who will heal Washington by bringing together feuding
politicians of both parties -- examining his voting record in the U.S.
Senate and in the Illinois Senate.

-- Senior Editor and Columnist Daniel Gross reports that America's
faltering economy may be the deciding factor in the 2008 election.
-- Investigative Correspondents Michael Isikoff, Mark Hosenball and
Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas report that 2008 promises to be a banner
year for gutter politics, and technology serves as a force multiplier
for crude partisan passion. A Newsweek investigation suggests that
political hit jobs are already rampant and likely to get worse.
-- White House Correspondent Holly Bailey talks with John McCain on the
campaign trail, two days after his New Hampshire primary win, about how
he found his footing, the war in Iraq -- and his lucky nickel.

-- Senior Editor and Columnist Jonathan Alter profiles the chief
strategists for the Clinton and Obama campaigns. "Hillary's man Penn is
a pollster by profession and the quintessential Beltway guy. Obama's
'Axe,' is a hardheaded reformer," Alter writes. "Penn's weapon is his
brain; Axelrod's is his gut."

-- Senior Political Correspondent Howard Fineman writes that, "Rudy
Giuliani sees Florida as his Cape Canaveral: the launching pad for his
better-later-than-never campaign ... Of the three groups that compose
the modern GOP ... Rudy has yet to find a home in one."

(Read entire cover package at www.Newsweek.com)


http://www.newsweek.com/id/91795 - Letting Hillary Be Hillary Cover Story by Jon Meacham


http://www.newsweek.com/id/91756 - Meacham Interviews Hillary Clinton


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080113/NYSA004
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN11
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek

CONTACT: LaVenia LaVelle of Newsweek, +1-212-445-4859


Web site: http://www.newsweek.msnbc.com/


Read an excerpt from "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton"

Spare a Thought and Stay Alive

Since the weekend, I have been saddened by the bad news of a US Marine, Maria Lauterbach who was raped and when she reported the crime, the suspect was not arrested. He later murdered her, burnt her and buried her in a shallow grave. He fled before her corpse was found. Then, did you know of the lunatic Egyptian Muslim cab driver who murdered his two teenage daughters, Sarah and Amina Said on New Year’s Eve, because they were dating non-Muslims in Texas, US?

Honor Killings are common in Islamic countries, but for a Muslim immigrant to commit such a heinous crime in a civilized nation such as the United States, he must be a raving lunatic. This Fifty-year-old Yaser Abdel Said must be found and brought to justice.

The world would be a better and safer place without these lunatic fringe elements in our midst.

Recommended reading:


Click here to read more on Disorder in Court.

Heidi Klum Wins Webcastr.com Video of the Year

11 Jan 2008 20:49 Africa/Lagos


Heidi Klum Wins Webcastr.com Video of the Year

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ --

Webcastr.com, a new video website featuring professional video content from over 200 channel providers, announced the winners of its Videos of the Year awards. Webcastr's viewers, along with its editors voted amongst over 2,500 professionally produced videos on the website to pick the best video clips of the year for 2007. Thirty finalists were chosen by the staff of the webbery with the final clips being voted on by viewers during the last two weeks of December.


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080111/LAF025)
(http://www.webcastr.com/videos/celebs/klum-loves-her-bazooms.html)

The winning clip, 'Heidi Loves Her Bazooms' was a Victoria's Secret promo spot featuring supermodel Heidi Klum, wearing a selection of the lingerie maker's latest bras in a comedic, combative yet playful series of video vignettes to promote the companies' Holiday Fashion Special on CBS last December.


The other winners are:

-- D*ck In A Box (The popular SNL skit featuring Justin Timberlake and
Andy Samburg)

-- Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert in the UK

-- Acting for the Greenscreen (a comedy sketch from Body of Art)

-- Bob Dylan Cadillac Commercial

-- Britney Spears VMA Parody (featuring Chris Crocker from National
Lampoon.com)

-- Don't Taze Me, Bro (from the John Kerry speech at Univ. of Florida)

-- Snoop Dogg in the UK (where the US rapper was hassled by Heathrow
authorities)

-- The Chemical Bros. "Salmon Dance" (computer animated music video)

-- Bush vs. Miss South Carolina (a comedy mashup)


Honorable mention:

-- SUV Driving Through a Shopping Mall (video surveillance tape)


The winning videos are currently on display at http://www.webcastr.com/vote.html


Unlike the majority of video sharing sites, Webcastr features clips that come from licensed sources of professional and semi-pro content. "With so much of the user generated content out there being of questionable quality, we are happy to present these awards in recognition of the efforts of pro content creators who increasingly understand the value of the short form online video medium," said Webcastr CEO, Tim Devine.


Webcastr features video clip content covering the fields of news, sports, music video, comedy, celebrity coverage, film, gaming, technology, animation and informational content updated throughout the day from a variety of content providers. The site is the opposite of user generated video sites that rely mostly on uploads of amateur video content from their members.


The site currently has deals with nearly 200 different content providers including CBS News, MTV News, Daily Variety, FHM, Dow Jones, CelebTV, Automotive TV, Warner Music, Sony/BMG, TV Guide Broadband, the Green Energy Channel, Digital Daily, Media Bytes, the Space Channel, Cycling TV, Ford Models TV, Election TV, ShortBrain TV, Vanity Fair and many others.


Started in June of 2007 by former Sony Music exec, Tim Devine, Webcastr has seen its audience grow around the world as well as enjoying a 1,500% viewership increase in its ratings as determined by internet tracking service Alexa. "We now have viewers tuning in from over 150 countries," says Devine. The site, still in beta phase, expects to go public by the end of next month.


Contact:

Jennifer Wetzel
310.270.4140
jennifer@webcastr.com

http://www.webcastr.com/


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080111/LAF025
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Webcastr.com

CONTACT: Jennifer Wetzel of Webcastr.com, +1-310-270-4140,
jennifer@webcastr.com


Web site: http://www.webcastr.com/

From the Bottom of My Heart

Dear Orikinla,

You and I surprised a lot of people tonight!

In the days after Iowa, I turned to you and asked you to stand with me. When I needed you most, you came through with flying colors.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

All the best,

Hillary Clinton

God Bless New Hampshire for Voting for Hillary Clinton

We thank the Almighty God who gave us victory in New Hampshire.

After Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton lost to Senator Barack Obama in the Iowa Caucuses, the legions of the anti-Clinton cult increased and swarmed the American mainstream news media to frustrate her and accelerate the momentum of the over-hyped Barack Obama into New Hampshire, to defeat Hillary Clinton again. But, I did not give up my support for her good cause. I continued my campaign for her victory on my blogs and websites and other sites.

I am learning many lessons of life from American politics. The lessons I know would be of immense benefit to my country, Nigeria, and me.

Before the polls, I went down on my knees to ask God for divine intervention to give her daughter Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton victory over her enemies and God answered my prayer. I did not wait for the results last night before going to bed. I woke up this morning and prayed as usual in my early morning devotion to God. After my prayers, I went to the main house to greet my younger sister Stella and her children and she greeted me with the good news that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has won the New Hampshire primary of the Democratic Party. The news was on Sky News and on the CNN. I was elated as I jumped up praising and thanking God for giving us this victory. I went down on my knees and lifted up my hands to thank God with tears of joy in my eyes.

To God be all the glory for our victory!
HillRaisers are jubilating all over America and the rest of the world.

I love you New Hampshire!
I thank you for voting for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
I thank you for giving her the great lift to get her grove back!
I thank you for not losing faith in our hope for the restoration of the American Dream and for the great leadership of America in the world.
God bless New Hampshire!

God bless America!

N.B:
Do not give up your hope, no matter the negative forces or voices of opposition against you, because as long as you are still breathing, and looking ahead, you will make it.
Keep on doing your best for the common good of humanity and you will succeed.
Trust God always, because God answers prayers.

Join Us Today.

Karen Mok designs own lingerie collection

Karen Mok poses for her own lingerie collection Passion Play. (Photo: chinadaily.com.cn)



Hong Kong singer and actress Karen Mok designs a collection for lingerie brand Passion Play, and poses for it by herself.



Karen recently announced the news of her breakup with longtime lover, 33-year-old Hong Kong singer/actor Stephen Fung, during a mini concert in Shanghai.


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/08/content_7384288.htm

"27 Dresses "premieres in Los Angeles

Actress Katherine Heigl poses on the red carpet at the premiere of "27 Dresses" in Los Angeles Jan. 7, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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