Brain dead D-list actress Angie Harmon is flexing her political muscles in a recent interview. Since Angie’s stellar career is filled with bombs like Baywatch Nights, Renegade, and gems like Agent Cody Banks, we are going to assume she’s just as wrong about Obama and she is about her slim career choices. There is nothing wrong with someone not liking Obama, I am just sick of hearing some people claim that they are racists for NOT liking him. The most shocking thing about Obama’s win is how little race has had anything to do with his current position. The only people who are making this racism claim are the white republicans who keep mentioning it everytime someone calls them on a comment. It’s weird, but starting to get common. Angie Harmon is officially a douche sack.

Angie Harmon is not afraid to come out and say she doesn’t like how President Obama is handling the job — but she’s sick of having to defend herself from being deemed a racist.

“Here’s my problem with this, I’m just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because I don’t like what he’s doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you’re called a racist,” Harmon told Tarts at Thursday’s Los Angeles launch of the new eyelash-growing formula, Latisse. “But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. I’m just not crazy about what he’s doing and I heard all about this, and he’s gonna do that and change and change, so okay … I’m still dressing for a recession over here buddy and we’ve got unemployment at an all-time high and that was his number one thing and that’s the thing I really don’t appreciate. If I’m going to disagree with my President, that doesn’t make me a racist. If I was to disagree with W, that doesn’t make me racist. It has nothing to do with it, it is ridiculous.”

Speaking of dislikes, the starlet has also had enough of the double-standards in the media.

“I do think McCain would have done a better job, only because I think he has more experience. I also think if W or John McCain or Reagan would have gone and done a talk show, the backlash would have been so huge and in his face, and ‘What is our president doing? How unclassy!’ But Obama does it and no one says anything,” Harmon said.

And in spite of the scornful opinions most of her Tinseltown counterparts have shared on Gov. Sarah Palin, Harmon remains a true fan.

“I admire any kind of woman like her. My whole motto is to know what I stand for and know what I don’t stand for and have the courage to live my life accordingly and she does exactly that. The fact that this woman has made the decisions she’s made and literally lived her life according to that and takes heat for it is absolutely disgusting to me,” she added. “People cannot look at this woman. I really think they’re afraid of her and her morals, ethics and values and the fact that she hangs on them. Is she the most experienced person in the world? But she was running to be the Vice President, so we then put the most inexperienced person as the President. That didn’t make any sense to me.”

However Harmon is definitely in the Hollywood minority when it comes to her criticism of Obama as other lasses at the Latisse party were quick to advocate their unequivocal support.

“The sort of criticism over the last couple of weeks is a bit unfounded, he’s been in office for barely any time and I think he inherited a lot on his plate and he’s doing a pretty remarkable job,” quipped Mandy Moore. “I think it’s cool that he went on Leno and I watched the “60 minutes” interview as well last week. The guy is just so articulate and he is so well versed in something that is so new to him and I think he has a good team around him. It sounds cliché, but he makes me feel proud to be an American.”

Debra Messing also told Tarts that our new President is not only meeting her expectations, but going far beyond.

“He is thoughtful and considerate and he gets all the information before he speaks which I think is a wonderful quality for the ruler of the free world to have,” she explained.

The ladies of “Entourage” certainly showed their Obama-loyalty too.

“It’s not an over night process. It’s going to get worse before it gets better; we’re all kind of in the same boat now. Everybody’s broke and everybody’s struggling and he makes me feel like I know him and that I know Michelle and that they’re like us and they’re out to try to save the USA. It’s just an amazing period to watch him take on these challenges and everyday in the news to hear about AIG or possibly global currency changing, it’s incredible. He’s facing big challenges and he’s got a lot of support and I’m just praying things get better,” Debi Mazar said, while co-star Perrey Reeves added that Obama is a “wonderful leader” and she’s looking forward to his future endeavors.

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Looking spectacular in a bright orange/tangerine dress.

President John F. Kennedy once quipped that he was merely “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.”
This week, Barack Obama might find out how he felt.
The first couple’s trip to Europe Tuesday takes Michelle Obama to a land that likes her husband but seems positively fascinated by her.

The British press in particular has followed Michelle Obama’s every move breathlessly, from her dresses to the “kitchen garden” behind the White House. One London paper tracked down her high-school prom date. Another asked plaintively, “Why Doesn’t the UK Have a Michelle Obama?”

So while the president has to juggle the politics, Michelle Obama’s job is in some ways more subtle and just as complicated. France’s first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was judged recently on her curtsy before the Queen, and back in the day, Jackie O.’s outfits and her command of the French language were closely scrutinized.
“Her every ensemble will be front page news and endlessly interpreted and decoded,” said Patricia McDonald, a London-based editor for the Michelle Obama fashion blog, www.mrs-o.org. “Will she break out a new wardrobe, or in deference to the economy, recycle her greatest hits?”

Michelle Obama’s official schedule says she will accompany the president to many of his events – they both will have tea with Queen Elizabeth II, for instance – but she’ll have some solo outings as well. She’ll visit an all-girls school in London where the population is mostly minority and the second language is English — an echo of her work in Washington, DC.

Sarah Brown, Britain’s first lady, will give Michelle Obama a tour of a health facility in London Wednesday and will take her and other spouses on a tour in London Thursday during the G-20 economic summit.
In France, Obama will join NATO spouses in visiting a hospital and a cathedral. And at all of these events, she’ll stand next to some of the world’s most high-profile political spouses— including Bruni-Sarkozy, the Italian-born ex-supermodel who is an admirer of the self-described girl from the Chicago’s South Side.
“She looks like she’s a great, strong, intelligent woman,” Bruni-Sarkozy said in one recent interview. “I must say that she doesn’t look like she [needs] advice … I think it would probably be better for me to be getting advice from her.”
Aides say Michelle Obama is aware of the moment and she has been reading up on her fellow members of the first ladies’ club ahead of the trip.

But her first stride across the global stage is about more than merely sightseeing with other first ladies. The first spouses also will have a chance to talk to each other about their various projects and how they see their roles in their respective countries — Bruni-Sarkozy, for instance, has an interest in shedding light on HIV/AIDS.
And for all the attention that will be paid to the arrival of America’s first black president, there is also a deep fascination with his wife – her humble roots, her Ivy League education, her groundbreaking role and her ability to juggle being first lady and raising two daughters out of the spotlight.

Some Europeans even seem puzzled by the complex mix of expectations placed on Michelle Obama in America. While her sleeveless-in-winter look caused a bit of a stir here—seen as immodest by some and fashion forward by others—across the pond, many observers just didn’t understand the fuss.
“In the U.S., Michelle is the locus for a nation’s attitudes about femininity, motherhood, feminism and sexuality,” McDonald said. “In Europe, she carries less symbolic significance. Her willingness to experiment are all traits European fashionistas admire — and if the occasional misstep is the result of taking a few risks, c’est la vie.”
Michelle Obama’s aides also insist that she is there in a support role to her husband. Yet if history is any guide, first ladies can overshadow their spouses, and the comparisons to Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1961 trip to Paris seem sure to abound, much like some are fond of comparing Michelle O. to Jackie O.

Kennedy had a few built-in advantages, of course – she charmed Charles de Gaulle with her style and impeccable French, and her French maiden name and schooling at the Sorbonne didn’t hurt—but her turn in Paris proved that little things matter.
Notably, Bruni-Sarkozy, who had been fodder for British tabs for her racy, rock-and-roll past, was able to sway public opinion in her simple visit with the Queen.
“She was so elegant in her Chanel and the way she did her curtsy in front of the Queen, she was elegant,” Renaud Girard, a foreign editor with Le Figaro said. “She was so modest. The British public
loved it. They became mad with her and she became instantly a new Jackie.”
The comparisons are inevitable, as are the questions – will Obama stick with American designs, or go international? What does one wear to have tea with the Queen? And what will she wear to stand next to Bruni-Sarkozy, dubbed the “Chanel gazelle?”
Brown, Britain’s first lady, was quite candid after her meeting with Bruni-Sarkozy that it’s all a bit intimidating.
“Well, I didn’t stand a chance, did I?” Brown confessed in one interview. “I mean, I was standing next to a supermodel. I thought that whatever I wore didn’t matter. With all due respect to myself, I knew that day I couldn’t win.”
But at least some in France think their First Family could take a few lessons from Michelle Obama.
“She has shown that she has a good sense of communication and PR, like being photographed at a charity place,” said Marie Colmant, a French television commentator. “When she was doing that, our French first lady and the president were in Mexico at a luxury villa. She has a good perception of the temperature of the American people. She gets it.”

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Attention women: What if you could detoxify your breasts and get rid of cellulite by wearing a special bra and panties? Some clothing manufacturers are suggesting that their products can do just that.

The “Brassage” promises to massage away toxins and help prevent breast cancer.The Brassage, billed as a revolutionary “wellness bra,” retails for as much as $59. It’s produced by Intimate Health, an apparel company run by Christina Erteszek, the daughter of famous lingerie designer Olga.

“I have seen a lot of breasts in my life, more than any man could dream of,” said Erteszek, who claimed to be wearing a Brassage during her interview with ABC News.
Regular bras could be hazardous to your health, she says, because they trap toxins in the breasts. Her Brassage, however, has “massaging” bumps sewn into the sides that “stimulate lymphatic flow,” flushing those toxins away.
Asked if she is implying the Brassage helps prevent breast disease, Erteszek said, “Yes. Of course.” But, she went on, “I say, ‘help to prevent.’ I’m making no medical claims that it does prevent.”

 

Unsupported Claims

There’s no evidence the Brassage helps prevent anything. And there’s no scientific data to support Erteszek’s statements, according to breast cancer researcher Dr. Susan Love, clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“We really have no data that toxins are accumulating in the breast tissue every day, and that they are not being allowed to drain out because of people wearing bras,” Love said.
The Brassage Web site says the Brassage is “doctor designed” and patented. But the inventor of the “micro-massaging” bumps in the Brassage is not a medical doctor; he’s a chiropractor.

 

Underwear That Prevents Cellulite?

Solidea, the catalog company that carries the Brassage, also sells Micro-Massage Anti-Cellulite panties, tights and tummy bands. The Brooklyn, N.Y., company imports the support hose from Italy.

A promotional DVD claims, “The special three-dimensional relief fabric effectively models and reduces cellulite on the buttocks, hips, thighs, and legs

Continue reading full story with video»»

by Tara Weiss, Forbes.com
With competition so fierce for every open position these days, even the smallest edge can make the difference in landing you that interview or even a job. One way to gain an advantage: Start a blog about your profession or industry.
The concept is simple. Keep your blog entries short and conversational. Anywhere from a few brief sentences to about 500 words commenting on industry news or trends is enough. Post at least three or four times a week, more if you like.

It’s a small amount of work that will likely impress recruiters and hiring managers, because it shows you to be enthusiastic and engaged with your industry. It also makes you look like an expert in your field.

Getting an Advantage

In addition, it can help control how you come up in online searches of your name. “Recruiters will always try to find out more about you,” says Liz Lynch, author of “Smart Networking.” “They Google you. You want to stack the deck in your favor. If you’re competing with someone who has equal skills and experience, a blog can be the tie-breaker. Having that little bit extra can tip the scales in your favor.”

Getting started is easy. Open an account with a free bogging service such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com. Or pay a little. Ted Demopoulos, author of “Secrets of Successful Blogging,” recommends Typepad.com, since it “looks a little more professional” and the company offers customer support. Typepad starts at $4.95 a month and rises to $89.95 monthly for the package with the most features.

All three sites provide instructions that make it easy to begin. “If you can write an email, you can start a blog,” says Lynch.

For the blog’s title, use your name exactly as you use it professionally, unless someone’s already taken it. That way, your site will come up earlier in searches and be more visible. If your own name isn’t available, pick one that has something to do with your industry. If you’ve got a common name, add in your middle name or initial and use it consistently throughout the blog.

Make the blog as visible as possible. Search engines tend to list blogs high up in search results, usually within the first few pages in a search of someone’s name. That’s because blogs tend to have links to other blogs or news stories, and links influence search ranking. So link to other blogs.

“Other bloggers will find your blog, and they will in turn link to you,” says Demopoulos. “Bloggers love to link to one another. Google takes every link as a vote of confidence.”

Your Visibility Booster

Another way to increase your blog’s visibility is by including its address on your LinkedIn profile and Facebook page and putting it on your resume.

As for your posts, keep them strictly professional. Save tidbits about your family or home renovation for another blog. Also stay away from religion, politics and sex — unless, of course, one of those is the industry you work in.

To help make sure you have enough to write about, set up a Google news alert to receive e-mails about stories with keywords from your industry. That way, you’ll get news about your field in your inbox automatically. Link to those articles on your blog, and write about whether you agree with them and why. Describe relevant professional experiences of your own. Predict how the matter at hand will affect your industry in the future.

If you attend a seminar or industry trade meeting, blog about an interesting speaker or a discussion on a controversial topic.

Above all, keep your posts short, conversational and informal. And don’t click “Publish” without doing a spelling and grammar check. A blog riddled with errors will hurt you more than it will help.

When you do land a job, don’t just shut the blog down. Update it less frequently if you must, but keep it going. It’s a useful networking tool, and it may even help you get speaking engagements and interviews for future jobs.

BLANTYRE, Malawi – Madonna is planning to adopt a second child from Malawi, officials said Thursday, but questions have already been raised over whether the newly divorced pop star will face obstacles because of her single mom status. An official at the Malawi welfare department said the pop star had filed adoption papers in the southern African country. Another person in Malawi close to the case said Madonna would be there this weekend and a court could hear her adoption case as soon as Monday.

A U.S. government official confirmed that an adoption bid by Madonna , an American, was under way. They all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg in New York would not comment. Years ago, the singer was accused of using her celebrity status to circumvent Malawian adoptions laws when she adopted her son David — allegations she denies. That adoption became final in 2008. Now there are concerns that rules again will be broken for the newly divorced Madonna as Malawi also does not approve adoptions for single or divorced parents.

However, the Malawi welfare official said each case is considered on its merit. Malawian law is fuzzy on foreign adoptions. Regulations stipulate only that prospective parents undergo an 18- to 24-month assessment period in Malawi, a rule already bent when Madonna was allowed to take David to London. Madonna met David in October 2006 at a Malawian orphanage. His mother had died and his father was unable to care for him. She and her then-husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie , took David to their London home but it took two years for the adoption to become official.

The adoption was a trying process for the singer, who said the criticism hurt. Some children’s advocacy groups accused her of breaking up a family. They claimed the child, who is now 3, should have remained in Malawi and the star should have instead offered to support his father.

Rumors that Madonna wanted to adopt a girl from Malawi have been circulating for some time. But the first official hint came from the star herself last week.

In an interview in Malawi’s leading daily The Nation, the singer said she was considering another adoption but would only do it if she had “the support of the Malawian people and government.”

Before David’s adoption was finalized in May last year, a Malawi welfare official paid the family two home visits and wrote in a report that Madonna was a “perfect mum.”

If the adoption goes through, the 50-year-old singer would become a single mother of four. She also has an 8-year-old son, Rocco, with Ritchie and a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.
Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while doing charity work and filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis there. Besides releasing her documentary “I Am Because We Are,” she is also establishing a school for girls there.

Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world. Just over 14 percent of the country’s 12 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and an estimated 1 million children have been orphaned.

In an interview last year, Madonna said she planned to visit Malawi this month with all of her children, but it is unclear whether Madonna ‘s children will accompany her on this trip.

She last visited Malawi a year ago, when she brought David and Lourdes with her. The star and her entourage spent their time visiting projects for street children and orphanages, and opening a new day care center funded by her charity.

A Washington woman visiting Wisconsin last year was arrested for drunken driving three times in three days, including twice in and around Kohler-Andrae State Park, according to court records released Wednesday. Jo A. Trilling, of Spokane, Wash., who was sentenced on the final two cases last week, was arrested in each case after driving off the road and getting her car stuck. She was arrested March 11, 12 and 13 of 2008, racking up a total of 30 days in jail and more than $3,000 in fines.

According to authorities:

Trilling was first arrested about 2 p.m. March 11, 2008, when a Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department deputy noticed her trying to drive out of a ditch near the Kohler-Andrae entrance. The deputy noticed Trilling wore only one shoe and smelled of intoxicants. A later blood test revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.21, more than 2½ times the legal limit. Exactly 24 hours later, the Kohler-Andrae park superintendent spotted Trilling’s car stuck in the snow in a campground that was closed for the winter. He told Trilling she would have had to drive through a muddy side lane and maintenance gate to get to that point, and she said she did not remember that.

Trilling told an officer she had “four or six cups of wine,” adding, “I am still finishing up the box of wine in my car from yesterday.” A box of Black Fox wine and a partial cup of wine were found in the car. Trilling was arrested and again served the mandatory 12 hours in jail before being released without bond, officials said. She then headed for Cottage Grove, in Dane County, where she was arrested after a citizen reported she was “all over the road,” according to a police report.

A partial bottle of wine was found in the car. Trilling had a blood alcohol-level of 0.16. The Cottage Grove case was concluded first and therefore listed in court records as the first offense. Trilling was fined $730 for that offense, $906 for the March 11 arrest in Sheboygan and $1,221 for the March 12 arrest in Sheboygan. Trilling was also fined $372 for an ordinance violation of resisting or obstructing an officer during the March 12 arrest.

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WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will talk about regulatory reform, risks to the financial system and executive bonuses when he meets top bankers on Friday, the White House said on Thursday. “Wall Street and Main Street, all of us, are in the same boat together,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. He said Obama would receive an update from top bank chief executives “on precisely what they’re seeing” in the troubled financial sector. The Obama administration is ramping up efforts to reach out to the financial community to ensure its participation in government plans to stabilize the financial system. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to meet Thursday evening with the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the largest financial services firms.Geithner unveiled on Monday more details on the government’splan to cleanse banks’ balance sheets of up to $1 trillion in distressed assets, most of them tied to mortgages. Earlier on Thursday, Treasury released its plans for
regulatory reform, calling for broad changes to curb risk-takingon Wall Street, including a new regulator to oversee the entire financial system. The announcements came on the heels of an outpouring of public outrage over $165 million in bonuses being paid at troubled insurer American International Group (AIG.N), which has been propped up with up to $180 billion from taxpayers. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to claw back most of the AIG bonus money, making investors and banks wary of partnering with the government because of fears that the rules could later change. Goldman Sachs is prepared to pay back the U.S. government’s $10 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) investment as soon as allowed by regulators, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

A growing number of financial firms that have received aid from the $700 billion TARP have said they plan to repay the
money after lawmakers tagged on restrictions involving executive pay and dividend policies. A White House official said earlier this week that Obama plans to “reiterate his belief that getting the economy back on track will require an understanding that each of us must look beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other in order for America to succeed.” (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Karey Wutkowski; Editing by
Eric Walsh and Matthew Lewis)

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Fargo, ND is fighting perhaps the worst flood in 500 years. This video was shot on the front lines of the sandbagging efforts March 23 in South Fargo in the Oak Creek neighborhood.

Many of the people in this video attend colleges and universities in the Fargo area. Most schools were closed today to allow students to assist with the flood fighting efforts.

Sandbagging and dike building will continue 24 hours a day until the river crests sometime on Friday. Forecasts currently have the river getting very close to the top of the permanent flood control measures in the city of Fargo.

This is a clip of the footage Dirk Monson, Daren Seney and Jessie Monson shot in south Fargo on March 23rd while fighting the flood. The clip was picked up by CNN, who did a phone interview with Dirk on March 24th.
Category: News & Politics

PRAGUE (AFP) – The fall of the Czech Republic’s centre-right government cast new doubts Wednesday on the future of the EU’s Lisbon reform treaty and overshadowed the country’s EU presidency. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek rushed back to Prague from the European parliament after seeking to reassure EU members his political battle would have “no impact” on the Czech Republic’s six month leadership of the bloc. But there are also questions however about an accord with the United States to station part of a missile defence shield in the Czech Republic.

Topolanek’s coalition, comprising his right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens, narrowly lost a no-confidence vote in parliament late Tuesday. Four rebel MPs voted with the opposition Social Democrats and Communists. Topolanek will officially resign to President Vaclav Klaus, his political rival, after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the prime minister’s spokesman said. But it was not known whether immediate elections would be called in a bid to end uncertainty which leaves fallout across Europe and adds to instability in the region after Hungary’s prime minister announced last Saturday that he would resign.

“We have a case where the Social Democrats are obstructing the Czech Republic. It’s a problem seen many times in the course of this presidency. But don’t be concerned, the situation will have no impact on the (EU) presidency,” Topolanek told the European parliament in Strasbourg. He immediately left for Prague, leaving behind Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, who admitted in a speech that the crisis “complicates” ratification of the EU’s reforming Lisbon Treaty. European governments fear that snap elections may only harden Czech attitudes against to the treaty.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was “worried” by the collapse of the Topolanek government which he said had “damaged” the EU presidency. “What has happened in Czech Republic again hurts any certainty that we will get the Lisbon treaty,” Kouchner added in Paris. Ireland and the Czech Republic are the final two countries still to ratify the Lisbon Treaty which aims to reform EU institutions. The Czech lower house has ratified the treaty, but there is uncertainty over a Senate vote due next month. “It is not going to be easy,” said Vondra.

Ireland’s voters rejected the treaty in a referendum but will be asked to vote again this year. The Czech newspaper Lidovne Noviny said “the failure of the Libson Treaty is very likely” after the government collapse. The Czech constitution is vague on the political options and observers are divided on whether Topolanek can remain in power until the end of the EU presidency on June 30. All agree however that the real winner is the eurosceptic president, Klaus, who will have the final say on who forms the next government.

“He can do what he wants, the constitution does not tie his hands,” said poltical analyst Bohumil Dolezal of Charles University. “We all know his positions on Europe,” Kouchner said of Klaus. Klaus himself played down the event. “The fall of the government is not something unknown or catastrophic in a constitutional system that works,” he said.  The shock collapse also cast doubt over the anti-missile shield accord with the United States.  Faced with growing public hostility, the Czech-US accord was recently withdrawn from a parliamentary vote over government fears of a defeat.

The US administration’s fresh policy of dialogue with Russia and Iran has also fuelled doubts over the future of the antimissile programme.