Talia Balsam Gave George Clooney A Shot At Marriage
Talia Balsam might be the only woman who will ever be able to say she was once married to George Clooney, with the actor dismissing suggestions he should get hitched.
Clooney appeared on Friday's "Piers Morgan Tonight," in a televised interview.
His father, George, was also interviewd on the program but was in the studio.
The British host highlighted the long marriage Clooney senior has enjoyed - to the actor's mother - and asked if he was "yearning for the moment" his son would tie the knot.
In reply Clooney, a former anchorman and game show host, turned to his son and said:
"I want you to think about that. I want you to think about - we've been married - Nina and I've been married 51 years."
To which the younger Clooney replied:
"I hate to blow your whole news story, "but I was married, so I gave it a shot."
Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993.
Since 2009, Clooney has been in a relationship with Elisabetta Canalis.
'Fairly Legal' Star Sarah Shahi Has a Crush on Danny DeVito
Sarah Shahi is a big fan of Danny DeVito and isn't afraid to admit it.
"I had a crush on Danny DeVito ever since I saw him in 'Taxi,' which I know is the weirdest thing in the world to say," Shahi tells PopEater.
The actress also chats with us about her new show 'Fairly Legal.'
On 'Legal,' which the star describes as "'Law & Order' meets 'Sex and the City,'" Sarah plays Kate Reed a legal mediator who works for her step-mother and is still tangled with her soon-to-be ex-husband.
"There's really great character dynamic on the show," she explains.
But Shahi wants to make it clear it's not the same old procedural. "It's like the anti-law law show."
Besides loving the role she plays, Shahi reveals another benefit of starring on the series -- the fashion.
"I did love the clothes. We were very designer heavy. She's the anti-lawyer, I didn't want her to look corporate and business like. I wanted her to wear more outfits and look thrown together," she explains of the wardrobe. "It was a lot of Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Thakoon, Dries Van Noten, Helmut Lang ... [just] young, great, hip designers."
Typhonium Plus – Alternative Cancer Treatment (Typhonium flagelliforme / Keladi Tikus extract) As a natural supplement may help to combat cancer/tumor and stimulate anti body.
Typhonium Plus formula traditionally use for cancer/tumor patients to combat breast, colon, rectum, liver, prostate, leukemia, cervical cancer and lung cancer.
Cancer is not one specific disease. It is a process that can affect any organ of the body. A healthy human body consists of normal growing cells which carry out the life processes in a normal and orderly manner. A normal living cell can, for various unfortunate reasons, turn abnormal or cancerous. It multiplies in the body rapidly and excessively, forming a group of cells of uncontrollable growth resulting in a swelling. Then the abnormal cells break up and invade adjacent tissues and organs and destroy them. With each hectic, uncontrolled and disordered cell growth, the body’s energies are misused and wasted. If this continues unchecked, death can occur.
Typhonium flagelliforme / Keladi Tikus is a herbal plant grows in East Asia as traditional medicine to combat cancer.
How Does Typhonium Plus Affect Your Body?
Typhonium flagelliforme / Keladi Tikus extract and other herbs combine help in the detoxification of the blood system. Typhonium Plus contains ribosome in acting protein (RIP), anti oxidant, and anti curcumin. Together triggered cells may in turn produce mediators that stimulate and strengthen other cells of the immune system of the body to combat the cancerous cells. Since the growth of cancerous cells is reversible given the correct chemical stimulus and environment, this explanation is not far-fetched.
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The Yankees and the free agent Andruw Jones agreed to terms on a one-year, $2 million contract Thursday, all but eliminating the possibility of Johnny Damon’s return to the team. Jones, a right-handed hitter once considered the most gifted center fielder in baseball, will serve as a backup outfielder.
The Yankees were searching for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to replace Marcus Thames, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner bat left-handed, as does Damon, making him less desirable to the Yankees.
On Wednesday, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman met with Scott Boras, the agent for Jones, after the news conference to introduce another Boras client the Yankees had signed, relief pitcher Rafael Soriano. A deal was worked out pending a physical. Boras also represents Damon.
Jones, who had 19 home runs and 48 runs batted in in 328 plate appearances for the Chicago White Sox last year, was looking to be a starter but had to settle for being the Yankees’ fourth outfielder. He will turn 34 on April 23.
Jones is a five-time All-Star and has won 10 Gold Gloves during his 15-year career, the first 12 of which were with the Atlanta Braves. Jones has 407 home runs and a .256 batting average. In 2005, he hit 51 home runs with 128 R.B.I. and finished second in the voting for National League most valuable player.
Reynolds Price, a Literary Voice of the South, Dies at 77
Reynolds Price, whose novels and stories about ordinary people in rural North Carolina struggling to find their place in the world established him as one of the most important voices in modern Southern fiction, died on Thursday in Durham, N.C. He was 77.
The cause was complications of a heart attack, his brother, Will, said. For many years Mr. Price had lived as a paraplegic after receiving radiation treatment for a spinal tumor, about which he wrote in “A Whole New Life” (1994).
Few writers have made as dramatic an entrance on the American literary stage as Mr. Price, who published his first novel, “A Long and Happy Life,” in 1962 to near-universal acclaim for its pungent Southern dialogue, highly wrought prose style and vivid evocation of rural Southern life.
The novel — the tale of Rosacoke Mustian, a young woman desperate to clarify her relationship with an untamable boyfriend, Wesley Beavers — inspired critics to welcome Mr. Price as the brightest literary talent to emerge since the Southern Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. In an extraordinary vote of confidence, Harper’s Magazine published the novel in its entirety as a supplement.
“He is the best young writer this country has ever produced,” the novelist Allan Gurganus said in an interview for this obituary. “He started out with a voice, a lyric gift and a sense of humor, and an insight about how people lived and what they’ll do to get along.”
Mr. Price staked his claim as a writer to watch with the novel’s bravura opening sentence, a paragraph-long curlicue that began, “Just with his body and from inside like a snake, leaning that black motorcycle side to side, cutting in and out of the slow line of cars to get there first, staring due-north through goggles towards Mount Moriah and switching coon tails in everybody’s face was Wesley Beavers.”
“Some beginning — of a book, of a career,” the critic Theodore Solotaroff wrote in Saturday Review in 1970. “Its sheer virtuosity is like that of a quarterback who on the first play of his first professional game throws a 60-yard pass on the run, hitting the receiver exactly at the instant he breaks into the clear; a tremendous assertion of agility, power, timing and accuracy.”
His story collection “The Names and Faces of Heroes,” published a year later, made it clear that “A Long and Happy Life” was no fluke.
Except for three years he spent in Britain as a graduate student at Merton College, Oxford, Mr. Price lived all his life in northeastern North Carolina, and he would work his home ground in 13 novels and dozens of short stories. Inevitably he drew comparisons to William Faulkner, much to his annoyance, since he regarded himself as a literary heir to Eudora Welty.
He also published poetry, plays, essays, translations from the Bible and three volumes of memoirs. With “A Whole New Life,” he attracted a new audience of admirers.
At Duke University, where he taught writing and the poetry of Milton for more than half a century, he encouraged students like Anne Tyler and Josephine Humphreys. Simply by staying in the South and writing about it, he inspired a generation of younger Southern novelists.
“He made this small corner of North Carolina the sovereign territory of his own imagination and showed those of us who went away that the water back home was fine,” Mr. Gurganus said. “We could come back; there was plenty of room for all of us.”
Edward Reynolds Price was born on Feb. 1, 1933, in Macon, N.C., a town about 65 miles northeast of Raleigh that he once described as “227 cotton and tobacco farmers nailed to the flat red land at the pit of the Great Depression.”
The family, struggling financially, moved from one house to another in nearby towns, but Reynolds, their first child, benefited from the doting attention of cousins, aunts and uncles — all of them, it seemed, gifted storytellers. His early life provided the material for the memoir “Clear Pictures: First Loves, First Guides” (1989). Mr. Price later said of his native county: “I’m the world’s authority on this place. It’s the place about which I have perfect pitch.”
His brother, of Raleigh, is his only immediate survivor.
Mr. Price enrolled at Duke University, where Eudora Welty read one of his stories, “Michael Egerton,” and volunteered to show it to her agent, Diarmuid Russell, who took the young writer on as a client.
After graduating summa cum laude from Duke in 1955, he won a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford, where he wrote a thesis on Milton, and developed career-enhancing friendships with the poets Stephen Spender and W. H. Auden and the critic and biographer Lord David Cecil. He wrote about his years in Britain in the third installment of his memoirs, “Ardent Spirits” (2009).
Spender published the story “A Chain of Love” in the journal Encounter, a coup for Mr. Price, who was also offered a teaching position at Duke when he returned. He was turned down for military service after he stated, without hesitation, that he was homosexual.
His first class included a promising 16-year-old named Anne Tyler. “I can still picture him sitting tailor-fashion on top of his desk, reading to the class from his own work or from one of his students’ papers,” Ms. Tyler wrote in an e-mail. “He seemed genuinely joyous when we did the slightest thing right.”
With his second novel, “A Generous Man” (1966), Mr. Price continued the story of the Mustian clan, to which he would return much later in the 1988 novel “Good Hearts.” He later confounded critics with “The Surface of Earth” (1975), an ambitious multigenerational chronicle of the Mayfield family, related by a well-educated, complex narrator much like the author himself.
Self-consciously grand, “The Surface of Earth” was the first part of a trilogy called “A Great Circle.” A sequel, “The Source of Light,” followed in 1981. Mr. Price completed the series with “The Promise of Rest” in 1995.
Sen. Joe Lieberman announced his retirement from the Senate on Wednesday, calling himself "a lucky guy," who will end a quarter-century career in Washington with no regrets. "The reason I have decided not to run for re-election in 2012 is best expressed in the wise words from Ecclesiastes: 'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven,'" said Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee who left his party to win a fourth term as an independent.
Surrounded by his large family and many admirers gathered in his hometown of Stamford, Conn., Lieberman credited President John F. Kennedy as his inspiration for political service.
"The politics of President Kennedy -- patriotic service to country, support of civil rights and social justice, pro-growth economic and tax policies, and a strong national defense-are still my politics," Lieberman said. "So maybe that means JFK wouldn't fit neatly into today's partisan political boxes either."
Lieberman, 69, entered the Senate in 1988 after a tough fight against incumbent Sen. Lowell Weicker, R-Conn. Shortly thereafter, he sought out Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., with an interest in working in a bipartisan fashion, outside those "partisan political boxes." The two, now among the closest of friends, have done so many times over the years, particularly on issues of national security and foreign policy.
"Along the way, I have not always fit comfortably into conventional political boxes-Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative," Lieberman said. "I have always thought that my first responsibility is not to serve a political party but to serve my constituents, my state, and my country, and then to work across party lines to make sure good things get done for them."
It was a speech accented with bipartisan references, with the self-styled "Independent Democrat" making no direct reference to his turbulent tenure in the Democratic party, before he was forced out in 2006 when millionaire businessman Ned Lamont bested him in a Democratic primary. To win, Lieberman ran as an Independent, though he never officially changed his party registration.
Lieberman's estrangement from his party hit its zenith when he announced his support for McCain's 2008 presidential bid against then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. At the GOP nominating convention, Lieberman famously said to great applause, "Senator Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who I think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America."
McCain's fondest memory of his friend of more than 20 years came in late 2007 when Lieberman announced that endorsement in New Hampshire. The independent senator told FOX News at the time, "There are some things more important than the political parties. One is friendship and the other is I think this guy is the best of all the candidates to unite our country and cross political lines so we can begin to finally solve some of the political problems that we have in this country and to lead us against the war versus Islamic elitist terrorism."
On Wednesday, McCain told Fox News in a phone interview, "It was a magical moment. I believe his endorsement was key in our winning independents."
All of this nearly cost Lieberman his chairmanship of a key committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, as liberals sought revenge for the perceived betrayal. Ironically, it was President Obama who stepped into the chasm and saved his onetime foe. Thereafter, Lieberman largely stuck with Democrats, though his opposition to a government-run insurance program further enflamed the left.
"He is a man of conscience. I look forward to working with him for the remainder of his term, and know we have many more accomplishments ahead," Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, top Republican on the security panel, said Wednesday. "We are all the better for his service in the U.S. Senate, and I will deeply miss him."
Many have speculated that Lieberman would, again, have faced a stiff challenge from the left and possibly even from the right. An independent in what would have surely been an expensive race might have face well-funded Republican and Democratic candidates.
To that, Lieberman replied, "I have never shied from a good fight, and I never will."
McCain said Lieberman, who was reportedly on his short list to be his vice presidential running mate, talked to his friend months ago about possibly leaving. The two recently "had a long conversation"on the subject.
"There's no doubt he had a tough fight ahead of him, but he's had tough fights before. I just think after 40 years, he's ready to do something else. Frankly, I'll miss him not only because of our deep and abiding friendship, but also because there are very few individuals with the knowledge to articulate the way Joe can," McCain said. "He's one of my dearest friends and I will miss him every day."
Lieberman, an expert on the Middle East and national security, said he intends to remain in public life, though he is not yet sure what he will do.
"When my Senate chapter draws to a close in 2013, I look forward to new opportunities that will allow me to continue to serve our country-and to stay engaged and involved in the causes that I have spent my career working on, and that I care so much about," he said.
With a toothy-grin and trademark quirky humor, Lieberman could not resist a joke in the moment, revealing to wife, Hadassah, the real reason he is leaving. "I promised you that when Regis leaves television, I'll leave the Senate! And here we are," Lieberman quipped, referencing his Greenwich neighbor and talk show host Regis Philbin, who announced his own retirement just this week. "Maybe we'll hang out more," he said with a laugh.
But Leiberman's mood was mostly reflective as he announced the end of his long career.
"This was not an easy decision for me to make because I have loved serving in the Senate and I feel good about what I have accomplished,"Lieberman said. "But I know it is the right decision and, I must say, I am excited about beginning a new chapter of life with new opportunities." News From: www.foxnews.com
An Al Davis press-conference primer: A whole lot to talk about, right AD?
4:48 p.m. update: It’s official. Hue Jackson is the new Raiders coach and will be introduced at a press conference tomorrow.
* Great point by Lowell Cohn: Yes, Mike Martz’s cool, calm running of the Bears’ offense is more proof of Mike Singletary’s limited vision. I doubt Singletary and Martz could’ve co-existed over any long-term period, but Singletary’s dispatching of Martz–and subsequent hiring of Jimmy Raye–was the biggest staff error of Singletary’s struggling tenure.
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And all those down-field passes to Greg Olsen vs. Seattle yesterday? I thought Martz didn’t use the tight end. That was positively Harbaugh-like, and I mean that in a good way
-Looks like Al Davis will be hiring Hue Jackson (or Mystery Candidate) any day now–tomorrow maybe?–and that means there will be a news conference to announce it.
With Al Davis as the centerpiece, dominant voice, feistiest presence and living icon. Most entertaining events in Bay Area sports, by the way.
Everybody else will just be a prop, up to and including Jackson. As is every coach next to Al, or beneath Al, or being fined by Al, or being yelled at by Al.
Just thought I’d toss out an AD Presser cheat-sheet, as we expectantly await Al’s first full-fledged media appearance since Sept. 30, 2008–the day he fired Lane Kiffin and promoted Tom Cable to interim coach.
Remember, in that time span, the man who emodies everything about the franchise–he’s the owner-president-GM-personnel director-PR director–has not explained his thoughts on:
-The end of JaMarcus Russell’s Raiders career;
-The acquisition of Richard Seymour;
-The acquisition of Jason Campbell;
-The Raiders great 2010 draft class;
-The victory in Kiffin’s grievance arbitration;
-The continued fizzle of Darrius Heyward-Bey;
-The break-out of Darren McFadden;
-The renaisssance of Tommy Kelly;
-The voiding of Nnamdi Asomugha’s contract;
-The comments criticizing the organiztion by Shane Lechler after the Cable dispatching;
You add whatever Al’s going to say about his reasons for dumping Cable and hiring Jackson/Mystery Candidate, and that’s a lot to talk about.
And there’s nobody better–actually there is NOBODY ELSE–to do it than AD.
Some other points…
* Presuming the hire is Jackson, this is another confirmation of the Al Davis Coaching-Hiring Code.
-Since the late-1980s, Al has rigidly alternated between burly offensive line coach (like Art Shell or Tom Cable) and offensive strategist (like Lane Kiffin or Jackson), time and again.
Jackson would be the 11th consecutive iteration of that pattern.
I’d say he has a bettter shot at it than Norv Turner and Kiffin, since Jackson has been in the system for a year and also has a much more vibrant personality than those two gameplanners, which is partly what seems to attract Al to the OL types.
But he also likes the gameplanners. Once he gets tired of the OL types (like Cable). Then he gets tired of the OL types…
* Here’s what I wrote in 2008, summarizing the code and the Al Davis double-presser in 2008, which also included an overhead projector I seem to recall.
* It’s always amusing to go back on the things Al gets mad at, in real time. Here’s the chat after the Lane Kiffin/Tom Cable double-session.
* More from the Lane Kiffin hiring: Deng Xiaoping, Lane Kiffin, Al Davis and me.
As a recent Tweet-responder reminded me, the funniest part of this item (now) is the series of angry Raiders-fan comments on the bottom, furious at me because I dared to question Al about the wisdom of hiring Kiffin.
* The Rustling Ratto, summing it up better than I ever have: Al Davis hates his head coaches.
Zack Greinke takes a break from vacation to talk about his friend Gil Meche
You probably know that Gil Meche decided to retire, but if you’re like me you’re still stunned he’s walking away from $12.4 million. It’s a fascinating story, as I wrote this morning the man is once again by defined by money — but this time it’s on his terms.
Meche made the 2007 All-Star team and finished fifth in strikeouts the next year, but as far as contributions to the Royals*, his legacy may be as Zack Greinke’s big brother. GM Dayton Moore has always credited Meche’s presence for allowing Greinke to “blend in,” and draws a direct connection to Zack’s success in 2008 and 2009. * Of course, besides the money, Meche’s time in Kansas City will be remembered for his 132-pitch complete game against Arizona in June 2009. The story’s been told plenty, but then-manager Trey Hillman wanted to go to the bullpen after eight innings, but Meche essentially vetoed him. He got the shutout, but was never the same, the Royals completely mismanaging Meche after that. As obvious as the connection is, Meche has always defended Hillman and said the extra pitches had nothing to do with his failing health. Of course, it’s in Meche’s self-interest for that to be the case, too.
You don’t have to believe that (I tend to think it had more to do with Zack’s talent), but Moore does, and more importantly, Zack does, too. The Star’s badass Royals beat writer Bob Dutton reached Zack on vacation yesterday for a short conversation. The first quote here appeared in Terez Paylor’s story. The last one is pure Zack.
Anyway, here’s Zack on getting help from Meche:
“Gil definitely helped me a lot. It wasn’t so much talking about baseball as it was watching him go about his business. On game day, nobody was as focused as Gil. He took the ball and never wanted to come out of games. Other guys would see that (competitive fire). I tried to be like that. That was my goal.”
On Gil walking away from the money:
“That surprised me a little because he’s entitled to that money. He was legitimately injured. But I’m not that surprised. People don’t realize it, but most guys really don’t play the game because of money. And it drives most guys crazy when they’re injured and can’t earn their money. I know it bothered Gil. That’s why he came back as a reliever last season instead of having surgery. That was his decision, and I think he did a pretty good job for us.”
On the friendly competition between the two:
“In 2008, I was following him (in the rotation) and we would compete against one another. It was that way at the start of 2009, but then he got hurt.”
On Gil working on his golf game in retirement: “Yeah, but he probably still won’t be able to beat me.”
Flexible travel dates? Score a deal with AirfareWatchdog’s Fare Alert feature
I’ve written about AirfareWatchdog before; here’s the quick summary which appears in my Ultimate list of top travel sites post:
Are you a procrastinator? Do you occasionally have to travel on little notice? If you answer “yes” to either of these questions, check out AirfareWatchdog. The site has a solid record of posting bargain, fire sale and price war fares more quickly than other sites. Type in your city name, select your airport, and the site will provide “Today’s LIst” of bargain fares. The site works with partners CheapAir.com and Travelocity. Note that some fares will involve multiple stops.
Also worth noting is the fact that the site lists fares from Southwest as well as smaller airlines like Allegiant and USA3000. More info
Jaipur: Around six people were notice died while; a dozen of them were notice wounded in a road mishap held in Jaipur.
The people were travelling in a car, which was moving in the opposite direction of a swiftness Rajasthan Roadways bus on the Allwar-Bhiwadi highway on Monday, police said.
This was a head to head accident and most of the victims were noticed as immigrant labourers. The injured people along with driver were carried to a near by hospital and the condition seems to be critical.
As per the Police, it was a low visibility times early in the morning on the highway this mishap taken place.
Life Unexpected Series Finale...2 years and a lot of wrap up in 2 minutes
Tonight was the series finale of Life Unexpected. It was a cute show, but the female leads tending to be on the ultra annoying side so I could see why the viewers were irritated to death and the show got the axe.
I would wrap up the entire 2 hour finale...except it would just take up too much space. So I will tell you that in the last 15 minutes of the show they jump ahead 2 years and you get to see who ends up with whom. So here it goes.
Lux is no longer an idiot and is valedictorian of her class (complete rubbish if you ask me). Her and Tasha are going to college together (cause some places are really keen on accepting kids who have been to juvie with assault charges).
Ryan is now with the ex-finance Julie and they have a kid together (that they conceived when he was still with Cate...what a man-slut). Math has finally found a woman and has impregnated (and I am assuming married) the producer of the Cate and Ryan show, Alice.
Baze and Cate are finally together and making out.
And Lux also has a man...but it is not the teacher, unfortunately...cause that would have been a ridiculous ending to a ridiculous season...no she is finally with Jones. I guess having a bi-polar mother finally makes him good enough for her.
Sometimes I wish that shows would do that...wrap everything up when they know that they are getting cancelled and tell the audience where the people would have ended up if the show ended later on...but after this I am glad that most shows just leave us guessing. The most confusing and annoying ending I have ever come across. (My favorites are still Friends and Fresh Prince....both empty houses. Hum, weird).
Tonight TV: It's A Wrap For 'Life Unexpected,' And 'Pioneers' Return
It's the two-hour series finale of the CW's Life Unexpected (8:00 p.m.), a show with a small but often very devoted fanbase.
PBS's Pioneers Of Television (8:00 p.m. many places, but check local listings) airs its Science Fiction installment tonight. You can watch a preview, in which Leonard Nimoy talks about playing a zombie.
Bob Newhart is guest-starring on tonight's NCIS (8:00 p.m., CBS). Just thought you'd want to know.
Diane Sawyer talks to Mark Kelly, the husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, on tonight's 20/20 (10:00 p.m., ABC).
Another episode of FX's Lights Out — the first critically adored but tepidly rated show FX has put on the air since ... well, since Terriers — airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. But it's on opposite, among other things, BET's The Game, which it rescued from A 2009 cancellation by the CW, to startlingly good ratings last week.
The second episode of Onion Sportsdome, which I reviewed last week, airs tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30 p.m. As I mentioned in that review, I like the second episode more than the first, so if you haven't checked it out — or if you saw the first episode and thought it was so-so — you might give it one more shot at impressing you.
Federal Government Closings, Arlington has declared a snow emergency to take effect at midnight tonight. All Arlington Public Schools will be closed Wednesday because of the snowstorm in the winter schedule.
During an emergency parking ban will be implemented in all streets and municipal parking. All vehicles parked on the streets during these hours will be subject to ticketing and towing.
The ban will be lifted on Thursday at 7 o’clock. Waste collection, recycling and disposal of Christmas trees will not take place on Wednesday. Trash normally collected on Wednesday will be picked on Thursday and there will be a delay of one day for the rest of the week. Friday pickups will be collected on Saturday, according to the city.
China leader to get state dinner, but a tough reception
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama welcomes China's leader Tuesday as Hu Jintao begins a three-day Washington visit that will include a state dinner at the White House for the first time in 13 years.
Hu apparently felt snubbed at the lack of a state dinner when he visited George W. Bush five years ago, and it is hoped Wednesday's opulent, black-tie affair with Obama — the grandest of White House soirees — could help smooth the latest tensions between the world's two largest economies.
However, amid the pomp, it's likely that Hu will also face some tough meetings. The New York Times pointed to tough statements made by several cabinet officials in recent days, saying they indicated the administration was seeking to take an assertive stance with the Chinese leader.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned the U.S. would step up military investment to counter China's increasing military strength; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China should allow its currency to gain value and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the country's human rights record, raising the case of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
"There's been this well-orchestrated and clearly well thought-out campaign, over the past two weeks, involving the secretary of state, Treasury, defense and commerce making strong statements regarding currency, the trade imbalance, human rights and China's military stance," David Rothkopf, a national security expert who worked in President Bill Clinton's administration, told the Times. "So you're welcoming the leader of the most important rival power in the world into the capital, and the way you pave his entrance into the city is laid with these four big thorny issues," he added.
Trouble during last visit The April 2006 summit did not pass off completely smoothly.
The Chinese leader was upset by the lack of a state dinner — Bush held few of such formal events but was also sensitive to human rights concerns.
A ceremony on the White House's South Lawn was also disrupted by a woman protesting China's treatment of the banned Falun Gong religious movement. Bush apologized after he and Hu went into the Oval Office.
And then a White House announcer called China the "Republic of China," which is the formal name for Taiwan, the democratic island that China claims as its territory.
For this year's visit, workers began preparing the South Lawn for the arrival ceremony on Monday, and U.S. and Chinese flags flapped in the breeze on Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol.
The state dinner will only be Obama's third, following those for India in 2008 and Mexico last year.
"This time, China is getting everything that it wants in terms of the symbols of a visit," said Bonnie Glaser, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who focuses on China. Story: China lends more than World Bank to developing nations
However, the visit will include at least one opportunity for trouble when the stiff, media-averse, 67-year-old Hu takes questions from reporters Wednesday, a White House demand that could create some awkward moments.
While Hu is seen on state TV in China almost daily, his appearances are always set pieces: speeches, attendance at important meetings or carefully scripted interactions with farmers, workers and students.
The only high-level news conference of the year is conducted by his premier, the more personable Wen Jiabao.
Hu has taken questions in public before, notably at a 2005 news conference with President George W. Bush in Beijing. But he refused to do so when Obama visited in 2009; instead, the two leaders stood stiffly in the Great Hall of the People and read statements to reporters.
On the eve of this trip, Hu submitted written answers to questions from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
Skilled ballroom dancer Though Hu is purported to have been a skilled ballroom dancer in his university days, he seems to lack the affinity for public displays that his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, was famous for.
He is known for his photographic memory and meticulous preparation and will likely come well-armed with platitudes and stock answers to deflect questions on sensitive issues such as human rights.
While he may not win the hearts of the American public, he may blunt some of the harsher criticisms, Joseph Cheng, who heads the Contemporary China Research Center at the City University of Hong Kong, said.
"He wants to try to do a little public relations and get his message across," he said.
"China's rising international status is increasingly a source of legitimacy for the government, and Chinese leaders want to exploit this nationalist sentiment as much as they can," he added.
Four questions will be allowed at the news conference, two from Chinese reporters
There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea You became the light on the dark side of me Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill
But did you know That when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can be seen
There is so much a man can tell you So much he can say You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain
Baby, to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
But did you know That when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can be seen
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the gray
But did you know That when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can be seen
Baby, I might compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the gray
I've been kissed from a rose on the grave Ooh, the stranger it feels, yeah Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the gray
I've been kissed from a rose I've been kissed from a rose
Baby, to me you're like a growing addiction Won't you tell me is that healthy ways and healthy ways And healthy ways and healthy ways And healthy ways and healthy ways
Marvin Online, New York personal injury lawyer Marvin A. Cooper, PC it launches news website in this New Year for better communication with their customers. In their new site, they tried to explain the information on all services there, the success and power customers back, they explain very clearly. In their new site, they gave more importance to their customers’ suggestions. Every citizen of New York is in danger of injuries that are caused neglect of others, such as motor vehicle accidents and medical negligence. The public needs common to cover their wounds and get fair justice in the form of compensation from the federal government, state or district courts against the wrongdoers. Since 1960, Marvin A. Cooper, PC has provided legal advice and representation services to clients residing in Bronx County, Westchester, Kings, Queens, New York, Rockland & Nassau. This firm is committed to treating each customer like family with dignity, class and respect, while obtaining the maximum monetary recovery possible for each case. If you have been injured anywhere in New York City, including the Bronx, Westchester, Kings, Queens, New York, Rockland & Nassau counties, we can bring more than 60 years of legal experience to your personal injury claim.
Former world number 27 Sania Mirza boldly declared she was back to her best after giving seven-time major-winner Justine Henin a scare in the Australian Open's first round on Monday.
Sania Mirza
Henin
Mirza, currently ranked 145th after battling injury in recent seasons, stunned Henin in a whirlwind first set before the pint-sized Belgian came back to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
The 24-year-old Indian only completed qualifiers on Sunday and admitted she tired during the final set, but confidently predicted a return to the top 30 on the back of the encouraging performance.
Her trademark forehand produced a number of winners and Mirza said she was keen to play her first full season since 2005, having put a long-term wrist injury behind her and regained belief in her own game.
Mirza said she would spend the next few months working on her ranking to ensure she never had to play qualifiers again, and said the performance against Henin was a huge confidence boost.
"I think this message sends out a very big message as to where I stand now as a tennis player again," she said.
"I have not played someone like that for a couple of years now and I showed I could compete against her.
"For me, to know I can match a player like that is something I am really happy about. It gives me a lot of confidence that I am back and I am ready to compete with the big girls.
"I am playing close to the level I was playing when I was top 30 in the world. I want to take this momentum forward, I am ready to be back where I was."
Mirza said she was excited to be back to full fitness, with no soreness in her wrist. However, she did feel the workload of playing qualifiers late in the match.
"I did feel a bit of fatigue in the third set, I don't want to play (qualifiers) in another Slam," she said.
"I was a bit tired, the match was pretty long, but there are some things that I need to work on.
"This was the best test for me, to know where I am stand.
"My aim is not be in the (qualifiers) of the next Grand Slam, which gives me four months to play as much as possible and hopefully stay healthy.
"When I am healthy the results show. It is about getting more matches in like these and I can get back to where I was and even better."
Henin said she was forced to draw deeply on her renowned fighting qualities to subdue Mirza.
"Tonight it wasn't easy. I wasn't playing my best tennis, and she was doing a lot of winners, (I made) a lot of mistakes, and that wasn't very easy to find a rhythm," she said.
"But it's in this kind of situation that you have to remain calm. That's what I did, so I'm pleased about that."
It was a late June afternoon and Steve Letourneau -- handsome, blond-haired, ruggedly built -- headed home from his job as an airline baggage handler. He was in a bad mood. He worked hard, as did his pretty, thin, schoolteacher wife, Mary Kay, but they could not keep up with the bills. The couple fought frequently, almost constantly, over money. Other problems added to their marital tension. Their Des Moines, Washington (the "s" in the "Des" is pronounced) home was always cluttered. Steve knew that 34-year-old Mary Kay suspected, rightly, that he had been cheating on her. But he had no intention of giving up the extramarital affairs that gave him both solace and excitement.
On top of all that, Mary Kay always had an ex-student from her sixth grade class over at the house. It was summer and school was out. Why should that boy, 13-year-old Vili Fualaau, always be hanging around? It seemed like his wife wanted to informally adopt that kid. She had more than enough responsibilities as it was. He and Mary Kay had four children of their own. Moreover, Steve was tired of Mary Kay constantly singing that Samoan-American boy's praises. Maybe he was a good artist for a kid his age but so what? That didn't make him a genius. Like most people, Steve thought Vili was a nice enough boy but he was just a boy, gangly, awkward, sometimes shy and other times self-consciously daring. Mary Kay did not seem to want to put her foot down around her former student the way an adult should. She even allowed him to smoke cigarettes in their house.
Letourneau's school lover, younger Letourneau's school lover, younger Making his way through the chaotic rooms, Steve found Vili and one of his own children working on an art project. The dark-complexioned, curly haired boy was clad as he usually was in the popular "gangster" style of baggy shirt and pants. Steve slammed down a box full of bills and papers on the kitchen table. "The school year's over!" he shouted at his wife. "Get busy working on this."
As Steve shouted, Vili made a quick exit. Mary Kay jumped into the family minivan and took off after him. She found the teen walking along a nearby marina. She slowed the vehicle down and stopped. Vili got in. A distressed Mary Kay apologized to the boy for her husband's rudeness. Then she started crying.
Vili felt a variety of strong emotions churning inside of him. Despite a 21-year age difference, he had long felt a great closeness to Mary Kay. Vili would later claim that he had started puberty at 10 so it is perhaps not shocking that he sexually fantasized about this woman who singled him out for praise and shared so many of her most intimate thoughts with him. For a long time he had believed, or at least hoped, that she shared his feelings. In a display of adolescent bravado, he had even bet a friend $20 that he "could sleep with the teach." Some reports say that Vili was a gang member who always carried a knife. He was eager to grow up.
As he comforted the weeping woman, holding her, he felt emboldened to go farther. He kissed her. To his joy, she returned the kiss. The two were embracing, touching each other intimately, and kissing deep and passionately.
Flashing lights interrupted the scene. A night watchman thought the parked car might be suspicious and called police.
"What is going on here?" an officer asked.
Mary Kay Letourneau Mary Kay Letourneau Mary Kay gave her full name and said she was a schoolteacher. She was watching Vili overnight because his mother worked a late shift. The boy appeared to be hiding under a sleeping bag.
"How old is the boy?" she was asked. "Eighteen," she replied.
The police were perplexed. According to a book on the case, If Loving You Is Wrong by Gregg Olsen, an officer "wondered if she was being held captive by the boy or perhaps he was being held against his will."
They prodded Vili. They could tell by looking at him that he could not be 18. He had neither a driver's license nor a state ID card.
"How old are you?"
"Fourteen," was the reply.
The police took the pair down to the station. Officers phoned Vili's mother, Soona Fualaau. The attractive, plump woman, who wore her black hair in waves cascading down her shoulders, told the police that she trusted Letourneau. "If he's with her," Soona said, "It's OK."
The two were free to leave.
A few days later, 34-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau and 13-year-old Vili Fualaau first had sexual intercourse. Vili would later claim they had sex some 300 to 400 times. The scandal would shock much of the country. No one would be more stunned than Mary Kay's friends and family. They had always seen her as a kind of "All American Girl" (a phrase that would become part of the title of a made-for-TV movie about the case). What they didn't know was Mary Kay was in some ways repeating a sordid chapter in her family history.
delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
"A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies," writes Amy Chua in her provocative new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. "Well I can tell them because I've done it." With those words she set off a storm of controversy.
Chua's book, which she wrote as a memoir of her conversion from authoritarian Chinese drillmistress to marginally less authoritarian drillmistress has led to people calling heartless and worse. She makes one daughter, Lulu, play piano late into the night until she gets the piece exactly right, with no water or bathroom breaks. She never lets her girls have sleepovers or do drama at school or get less than A on report cards. Result: one daughter gets to play a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. The other, Lulu, rebels, drops violin and takes up tennis.
An excerpt under the headline (which Chua did not write) "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" in the Wall Street Journal led to howls of outrage, accusations of abuse and entreaties not to buy the book. But it's also led to a deeper reflection on the different styles of parenting and whether Western, more child-centered practices are always the best way. Here, Chua gets to make her case.
It's a brave woman in this day and age who writes a parenting memoir. What made you want to do it?
I didn't write this book to tell people how to parent. In fact, I wrote this book in a moment of crisis. I was raised by extremely strict but extremely loving Chinese immigrant parents. To this day I adore them and I feel I owe them everything. I tried to raise my children the same way. My daughter rebelled against this kind of parenting and I felt like my family was falling apart. So the book is about many of the strengths I see in that kind of parenting but it's also about the mistakes.
What has provoked the most reaction?
The story I'm getting most flak for her is one I stand by. My daughters find the trouble I'm getting in for it incredibly funny. My kids were maybe seven and four and my husband had forgotten my birthday so at the last minute we went to this mediocre Italian restaurant and he said “O.K., girls you both have a little surprise for mommy.” And my daughter Lulu pulls out a card, but the card was just a piece of paper folded crookedly in half with a big smiley face and it said Happy Birthday Mom. And I looked at it and I gave it back and I said “This isn't good enough. I want something that you put a little bit more time into.” So I rejected her birthday card. People can't believe I rejected this handmade card. But she knew as well as I did that it took her about two seconds to do it. That's the story that's coming off as the most outrageous, which in our family is like a standing joke.
What are the chief differences between the western style of parenting and the Chinese style of parenting?
I think the biggest difference is that I've noticed Western parents seem much more concerned about their children's psyches, their self-esteem, whereas tough immigrant parents assume strength rather than fragility in their children and therefore behave completely differently. I know some of the examples seem very harsh—I've had a lot of emails about that—but I think it goes without saying that love and understanding have to come first, without that it's nothing.
At its best I think it's not about achievement, but about trying to help your child be the best they can be and it's usually more than they think. It's saying “I believe in you so much that I know you can be excellent, and I'm going to sacrifice everything and be in the trenches with you and I don't care if you hate me while you're a kid and I'm just not going to let you give up.” That's, I think, a positive message.
What does that kind of parenting look like?
It's much less deferring to the child's wishes. The westerners want to respect their child's individuality and to pursue their passion and to provide positive reinforcement. The Chinese are much more comfortable overriding their children's preferences. I talk about the virtuous circle: most things are not fun until you're good at them and to get good at them, you have to work extremely hard, and kids on their own will not want to work hard at something. My husband adores his parents but he wishes someone had forced him to learn a musical instrument.
Another thing is total respect for parents. I was raised never talking back to my parents. I once won a second prize in a history concert. My parents came to the ceremony. Somebody else had won the prize for best all-around student. Afterwards my father said to me, “Never, ever disgrace me like that again.” When I tell my western friends they are aghast. But I adore my father. It didn't knock my self-esteem at all. To this day my father is my greatest source of strength. Words said in one cultural context may not mean the same thing as words said in another cultural context.
Having said that, there are a lot of moments I'm not proud of. This book is making fun of myself.
One of the things that working mothers wanted to know, was how on earth did you have the time to do all that with your kids while having such a successful career?
I read my own book and I'm exhausted. I do think it's very difficult. But what I'm calling tough immigrant parenting is not the same as being a helicopter mom. As I understand it that term means the parent is hovering over the child and talking to teachers and principals. When I was little, my father used to say that if something doesn't seem fair, you prove yourself by working twice as hard and being twice as good. Now I think if a kid in school does badly on a test you rush into the school, you question the teacher and the curriculum. I think the kids are strong to be able to hear “Start with yourself, maybe you didn't work hard enough.”
Do you think one of the reasons the reaction has been huge, is that parents fear they're maybe doing something wrong?
I think it's partly the suggestion, maybe, the Chinese way is better. I really just don't believe that. I think there's many ways of being a good parent. I find it very striking that we're calling the values of hard work and be the best you can be and stick with it— that we're calling those Chinese values because I always thought of those as American values.
Parenting is such a personal topic. Everyone is reacting against or in favor of the way they were parented or defending the way they're parenting now. It's so emotional. I completely understand it.
Is this kind of parenting an immigrant thing or a Western/Eastern thing?
I think the Asian approach emphasizes hard work. But you cannot believe how many emails I've had from people whose parents emigrated from Sierra Leone and Nigeria and Ghana and Jamaica and Haiti, who say “I was raised exactly like this. I'd never be the person I was without my mom.” My kids grew up more privileged than I did. I tried to recreate the immigrant experience. I didn't have the same authenticity. My parents never spent a penny on themselves, so when they said 99% is not good enough, I never questioned it. My kids do.
How have your children felt about all the controversy?
They've been really really supportive. The thing that hurts me most is this idea that if you practice this strict parenting you're going to get robots. My children are not robots. They have the biggest personalities. They're always putting me in my place.
What did your parents think? Thy were cautious, but completely supportive. We're very close. But I want to spare them any pain, so I hope they don't know how to use the internet.
Talia Balsam might be the only woman who will ever be able to say she was once married to George Clooney, with the actor dismissing suggestions he should get hitched.
