Hillary Rodham Clinton will join President-elect Barack Obama’s national security team as Secretary of State.

Democratic officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Obama will name the New York senator as his Secretary of State at a press conference in Chicago on Monday.

Obama also plans to announce that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will remain in his job for a year or more and that retired Marine General James M. Jones will serve as national security adviser.

Bill Clinton cleared the way for his wife to take the job by agreeing to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997. He’ll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding CGI meetings overseas.

Former President Clinton’s business deals and global charitable endeavors were expected to create problems for Hillary’s nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to his post-presidential work.

Here is the full text of the internal guidance about the agreement.

Critics have pointed out that the President-elect’s team doesn’t represent the change he promised on the campaign trail, with all of his top choices having served in either the Clinton or Bush administration.

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Madonna’s awakening to the crisis in Malawi - an impoverished African nation where one million children are orphaned by AIDS - had many consequences.

She adopted one of those orphans, her 3-year-old son David. She is building a school there.

And she has told Malawi’s harrowing story in her documentary, “I Am Because We Are.” With an audience thus far limited to isolated theater screenings, it will be screened for everyone with its TV premiere on Sundance Channel at 9 p.m. EST Monday (World AIDS Day).

The feature-length film was written, produced and narrated by Madonna (directed by Nathan Rissman). It consults experts including President Bill Clinton and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

But the film’s real power is its images, which are often dismaying but, here and there, reflect hope and a remarkable will to survive.

“I had many goals,” said Madonna during a phone conversation from her Manhattan home a few days ago. “I did get to a point where I thought, ‘I’m being overambitious, I’m trying to say too much, I’ll never accomplish it.’ But I feel proud of the fact that I did get to make all my points.”

Among her points: an insistence that any crisis comes with solutions, however hard-won and piecemeal.

The film offers its audience a menu of constructive responses.

“If all you can do is live life in YOUR world in a way that shows you are responsible for the people around you, that’s a course of action,” said Madonna. “People can be of service in large ways and small.”

The first wide exposure of “I Am Because We Are” may be coming at a propitious time, which befits the pop superstar who made it, with her knack for anticipating and identifying cultural trends.

On the eve of a new presidential administration, Americans seem set on a more idealistic path, however alarmed they may be by economic threats along the way.

“People really are going, ‘Wow! I can no longer ignore what’s going on around me.’ There are changes in the air,” she said.

Madonna’s busy schedule continues apace. But the artistic life that drives it “is a world you create and you inhabit, to express yourself, and to inspire and reach out to other people,” she explained. “It’s also a consolation, a place you go to to protect yourself.” That’s true now, in particular, during her highly public split with Guy Ritchie, her husband of eight years, which she described as “not easy, I’m not going to lie.”

Though on a brief New York break from her concert tour, Madonna said the day’s long to-do list called for this AP interview to be followed by interviews she would be conducting herself: with prospective head mistresses for the girls school she is building in Malawi.

“We’re all going there together at the end of March,” she said, referring to David, 8-year-old son Rocco and 12-year-old daughter Lourdes.

“I’m very involved in a lot of things that are going on there,” she said, and as she makes return visits with her kids, she wants them to gather insights into the plight of the world’s underprivileged. “And David’s always going to understand where he came from, and what his life could have been like.”

Meanwhile, she hopes her film can spread the message to millions more.

“It has an impact on the people who see it,” she declared. “The more people, the bigger the impact.”

A boot named after Barack Obama that is.  Sandra Canselier, Coclico designer, is a French expatriate living in the United States.  Since she couldn’t vote for Obama herself, she decided to name a boot after the presidential-elect.

Coclico’s Obama boot was designed with high-fashion looks in mind. The shaft sports curved seams up one side and a hidden zipper entry on the other. The rounded, peaked toe works with the thick, tapered heel for a comfortable fit and stylish silhouette. Best of all, the vegetable-tanned leather will patinate over time–making this boot look even better with wear.

Coclico Women’s Obama Boots, available in Serpico Bruciato and Serpio Plombo, are available from Amazon.com, $535.95. Too bad they aren’t included in the economic stimulus package, but, hey you get free shipping.

WHITE MOUNTAIN DIAMOND SZ 9 W LEATHER BOOTS NEW US $24.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Nov-25-2008 4:51:57 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

She might be a successful singer, but when it comes to the kitchen, Beyonce Knowles admits she’’s far from great. Therefore,the stunner is learning to cook for Thanksgiving.

The ‘Crazy In Love’ hitmaker is learning the culinary skills in order to serve up a Thanksgiving feast for husband Jay-Z.

The singer, who is also a great actress, is normally treated to a meal by her mother, Tina, to celebrate the November holiday. However, now Beyonce feels the time is right for her to have a go at cooking a Thanksgiving meal for all the family. “For Thanksgiving my mother usually cooks. It’’s just like anyone else’’s Thanksgiving. It’’s actually my favourite holiday because it’’s not about anything but giving back, giving thanks for all our blessings,” the Daily Express quoted her, as saying.

“Hopefully I”ll try to make some type of pie. I”m not the best cook, but I think I”m ready to try something,” she added.

Beyonce, who supported Barack Obama in the US Presidential election race, also revealed she would love to sing at his inauguration ceremony in January.

The 27-year-old star added: “I know I”m definitely going to be there, I want to be there with him. I”m not sure if I”ll be performing, but I”d love to.”

 

This week’s douchebag award goes to Elizabeth Kennedy from Bak Middle School of the Arts!

She allegedly cited a middle school history teacher for wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt to school AFTER the election.  This wasn’t even during the election, this was AFTER it people.  The history teacher’s name is Dennis Yuzenas. Kennedy was pissed off at Yuzenas for appearing on the school’s TV show saying: It’s a good day to be an American.

Hmm….did Kennedy really have a titty fit because Yuzenas was obviously educating the young ones at Bak MSOA about Obama winning the election? Yes.  Kennedy had a titty fit.  I don’t even know how this woman is a principal, but she decided to send a memo to Yuzenas :

Last Friday, November 7, you wore a T-shirt that clearly showed which candidate you supported during the recent Presidential Election and appeared with students on the in-school news broadcast sharing your positive view regarding the outcome of the election

Really bitch? Because according to The Palm Beach Post’s article (link below, please click), I’m damn sure the man wore the shirt AFTER the election- hence the November 7.

 But the stupidity and ignorance doesn’t stop there people- Kennedy even added:

The kids could go home and say We know who Mr. Y voted for.

*Gasp* The children know the truth! Oh God! The children know that Obama is the president! Oh!!! THE AUDACITY. That’s almost as bad as killing baby seals! Are we seriously trying to “protect” kids from the truth. That’s like attempting to “shield” kids from the infamous question- Mommy, where do babies come from?

Personally, Kennedy must be having a mid-life-crisis. She’s probably extremely bitter about Obama winning. What’s done is done, and instead of Kennedy going around in circles with this, she should do her job and focus on her students.  Yuzenas is an American History teacher. He’s not going to sit around and not say a word about this historical election.  These kids can’t even vote yet!

This article was helped made possible by Frank Cerabino’s.  Click HERE.

 

This week’s douchebag award goes to Elizabeth Kennedy from Bak Middle School of the Arts!

She allegedly cited a middle school history teacher for wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt to school AFTER the election.  This wasn’t even during the election, this was AFTER it people.  The history teacher’s name is Dennis Yuzenas. Kennedy was pissed off at Yuzenas for appearing on the school’s TV show saying: It’s a good day to be an American.

Hmm….did Kennedy really have a titty fit because Yuzenas was obviously educating the young ones at Bak MSOA about Obama winning the election? Yes.  Kennedy had a titty fit.  I don’t even know how this woman is a principal, but she decided to send a memo to Yuzenas :

Last Friday, November 7, you wore a T-shirt that clearly showed which candidate you supported during the recent Presidential Election and appeared with students on the in-school news broadcast sharing your positive view regarding the outcome of the election

Really bitch? Because according to The Palm Beach Post’s article (link below, please click), I’m damn sure the man wore the shirt AFTER the election- hence the November 7.

 But the stupidity and ignorance doesn’t stop there people- Kennedy even added:

The kids could go home and say We know who Mr. Y voted for.

*Gasp* The children know the truth! Oh God! The children know that Obama is the president! Oh!!! THE AUDACITY. That’s almost as bad as killing baby seals! Are we seriously trying to “protect” kids from the truth. That’s like attempting to “shield” kids from the infamous question- Mommy, where do babies come from?

Personally, Kennedy must be having a mid-life-crisis. She’s probably extremely bitter about Obama winning. What’s done is done, and instead of Kennedy going around in circles with this, she should do her job and focus on her students.  Yuzenas is an American History teacher. He’s not going to sit around and not say a word about this historical election.  These kids can’t even vote yet!

This article was helped made possible by Frank Cerabino’s.  Click HERE.

And click HERE to read some comments made by extremely unhappy students.

Not quite.

Based on the flurry of quiet directives coming from the White House as the end of the term nears, it looks like the Bush goose (or is it turducken?) isn't quite cooked yet.

In what has become a kind of presidential right-of-passage, the president (or really, the federal agencies that answer to him) has been pushing through a series of last-minute regulations that have the force of law. Everything from pollution controls to family-leave standards can be set by these rules.

And you thought your high school government teacher said that Congress made all the laws.

These de-facto laws are called "midnight rules" or "midnight regulations" because they happen at the end -- or midnight period -- of an administration. If the rules are published in the Federal Register by Friday, Nov. 21, they'll be very hard for President-elect Obama to reverse when he gets into office.

And that's the point. Sure, the administration had eight years to get a lot of this stuff accomplished. But according to senior research fellow at George Mason University, Veronique de Rugy, most midnight regulations "cater to special interests" and "that is why they are hurried into effect without the usual checks and balances."

George Bush isn't the first president to push through rules before the next guy can get in. Jimmy Carter gets that award. In fact, the New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert says Carter's whirlwind of last-minute activity before Ronald Reagan took office is when the practice got named. "They became known as 'midnight regulations,' after the 'midnight judges' appointed by John Adams in the final hours of his presidency."

George Bush doesn't get the award for the most rules shoved through after the two-minute warning either. That goes to Bill Clinton who, according to de Rugy, set the record for number of last-minute pages published in the Federal Register at "more than 26,000."

So, what rules are the White House and all its federal agencies trying to get through this season?

The Wall Street Journal reports that the new rules, "open the way for commercial development of oil shale on federal land, allow truckers to drive for longer periods, and add certain restrictions on employee time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act."

Those run the gamut, but the ones getting the most press are environmentally focused. The Los Angeles Times says environmentalists are angry by a host of loosened safeguards:

In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

The Chicago Tribune did a special report saying the administration undercut a clean-air rule aimed at curbing childhood lead poisoning:

...the EPA had planned to require lead monitors next to any factory emitting at least a half-ton of lead a year. But after the White House intervened, the agency raised the threshold to a ton of lead or more, according to e-mails and other documents exchanged between the EPA and the Office of Management and Budget.

In an Oct. 31 press briefing, Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto was asked about environmental groups saying the White House was easing limits on pollution. First Fratto responded that the White House is "constrained" about discussing regulations under review, but then said, "I would be highly doubtful that there's any specific increase in environmental-related regulations."

Navigating the rule-making process can be laborious for the non-wonk type, but the non-profit, investigative journalism group ProPublica has tried to make it easy for people who want to investigate for themselves. ProPublica has a master list of Bush's midnight regulations here, and the group posted a guide on "How to Ferret Out Midnight Regs Yourself." If you've got the time and inclination, a lot of this process is public record and online.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20081121/pl_ynews/ynews_pl158

Splitting the difference will hopefully pay off in spades someday for Emma Thompson's 8-year-old daughter Gaia Romilly. During a Wednesday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Emma revealed that at the moment Gaia intends to pursue a "double-headed" career path of becoming both "an artist and a cocktail waitress." Joked Emma,

"It's good, she's aiming both high and very, very low simultaneously. So somewhere in-between, it's going to happen."

Gaia's ambitions recently came to light when a school assignment required her to complete a job application. While there were "lovely ones" written by some children, Emma says Gaia opted to apply for the position of "bar assistant." Among her listed qualifications? "She wrote, 'Because I can mix the following drinks,' and -- and I quote -- 'There's nothing I like less than a cluttered bar,'" Emma recalled with a laugh.

As for Emma's 21-year-old son Tindyebwa 'Tindy' Agaba, the 49-year-old actress says she was initially hesitant to speak out about his adoption because he was "just settling in." They were introduced when Tindy, a former refugee from Rwanda, came to their house for Christmas. "Slowly in an organic fashion, he became part of the family," Emma says. With Tindy -- described by his mom as "a remarkable boy" -- now studying social and political science at Exeter University, the family was understandably inspired by the recent U.S. presidential election. "When Obama got it, my husband woke me up, and I texted it to Tindy and said 'I expect you to be in office by 2012,'" Emma reveals.

Gaia and Tindy are Emma's children with actor Greg Wise, whom she married in 2003.

Source: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Sarah Palin gave a nice relaxed interview about her experience on the Presidential campaign trail. The interview was conducted at a local turkey farm business. Unfortunately, while Sarah was giving her interview, and sipping her latte, turkey’s were being killed and bled-out behind her.

Most Americans want to sit down and enjoy a nice juicy turkey on Thanksgiving day, but they don’t want to see how the turkey is killed and butchered before it lands on their plate.

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