Poetry Contest Inspires Palestinian Youth
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Print
Email
PDF 
About the Author: Christina Higgins serves as Assistant Information Officer at the U.S. Consulate-General in Jerusalem.
It’s sounds corny, but it’s true. Every time I have the honor of representing the United States at a local event, I choke up. It’s not hard to represent the United States, because we stand for enduring values. President Obama spoke about these values in a powerful speech on May 21, calling them, “a light that shines for all who seek freedom, fairness, equality, and dignity….” But I also choke up, because I feel an immense honor representing my aunts and uncles in Wisconsin and Ohio, my cousins in Florida, Texas, and Oregon, my friends throughout the United States.
It happened most recently in Bethlehem. I had the honor of attending graduation at a Palestinian high school. I presented an award for the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem’s online poetry contest. The contest winners hailed from Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem and Gaza. As I entered the assembly hall, just behind the Boy Scouts clad in Scottish kilts, I was reminded of the fascinating and rich history of the Holy Land, where young Palestinians play traditional Arabic tunes on bagpipes. I presented the award to the winner, the beaming graduate, Khalid, and congratulated him on his poem, “Let’s rejoice. It’s Springtime!” Reflecting the contest’s theme of nature and conservation, he wrote, “I see the flowers, the roses, everywhere, like the stars in the sky…I hear the sound of rivers and waterfalls, like a melody and a song.”
Khalid displayed all the exuberance of a high school graduate anywhere in the world. He was looking toward the future with anticipation. In fact, many in the region are filled with anticipation, encouraged by U.S. statements of support for the two-state solution, a future where Israel and a Palestinian state will live together in peace and security. All eyes are now on Egypt where President Obama will deliver an important speech on June 4 about America's relations with the Muslim world. I am sure that Khalid will be listening.
Poetry Contest Inspires Palestinian Youth
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
Poetry Contest Inspires Palestinian Youth
[Source: Boston News]
Poetry Contest Inspires Palestinian Youth
[Source: Channel 6 News]
Poetry Contest Inspires Palestinian Youth
[Source: Nbc News]
posted by 77767 @ 9:30 PM,
,
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
PrintEmailPDF 
Dr. Bailey and Dr. Cooper are teaming up for the Emmys. Grey's Anatomy star Chandra Wilson and The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons will announce the nominations for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.
The duo will be joined by Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chairman-CEO John Shaffner for the 8:30 am/ET reveal on July 16.
Wilson has received ...
Other Links From TVGuide.com
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
[Source: News 2]
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
[Source: Boston News]
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
[Source: State News]
Chandra Wilson, Jim Parsons to Announce Emmy Nominations
[Source: Wb News]
posted by 77767 @ 9:13 PM,
,
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
PrintEmailPDF 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its preliminary analysis of crime trends in the U.S. for 2008 and there's plenty of good news:
... the nation experienced a 2.5 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 1.6 percent decline in the number of property crimes for 2008 compared with data from 2007. The report is based on information that the FBI gathered from 12,750 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data to the FBI for both 2007 and 2008.
... In 2008, all four of the violent crime offense categories declined nationwide compared with data from 2007. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter declined 4.4 percent, aggravated assault was down 3.2 percent, forcible rape decreased 2.2 percent, and robbery decreased 1.1 percent.
See FBI press release detailing crime trends here.
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
[Source: Stock News]
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
[Source: Rome News]
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
[Source: Channels News]
U.S. Violent Crime Rate Down
[Source: Nascar News]
posted by 77767 @ 9:04 PM,
,
Quote of the Day
PrintEmailPDF "I am Rahm Emanuel, so people say that a lot."
-- White House chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, quoted by the Reliable Source, to a woman who asked him if anyone ever tells him he looks like Rahm Emanuel.
Quote of the Day
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
Quote of the Day
[Source: Community News]
Quote of the Day
[Source: Salem News]
Quote of the Day
[Source: Channels News]
Quote of the Day
[Source: News Article]
posted by 77767 @ 8:54 PM,
,
Disney Channel Renews Hannah with a Change, Sonny with a Chance
PrintEmailPDF 
Two of the Disney Channel's teen queens will continue their reigns: The cabler has ordered new seasons of Hannah Montana and Sonny with a Chance.
Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus, will begin production on Season 4 early next year. Coming off of this season's upcoming cliff-hanger, the next cycle will find the Stewart clan struggling to say goodbye to their Malibu home.
"Hannah Montana has become one of the most iconic series in television history," Disney Channel president Gary Marsh said in announcing the pick-up. "Miley and the producers have proposed a change ...
Other Links From TVGuide.com
Disney Channel Renews Hannah with a Change, Sonny with a Chance
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
Disney Channel Renews Hannah with a Change, Sonny with a Chance
[Source: Palin News]
Disney Channel Renews Hannah with a Change, Sonny with a Chance
[Source: Sunday News]
posted by 77767 @ 7:20 PM,
,
The other Susan Boyle
PrintEmailPDF The global success of the Britain's Got Talent star has had an unlikely impact on one unassuming Texas artist. Stuart Jeffries hears how
There is, you might think, room in the world for only one Susan Boyle. But you would be wrong. The American artist, Susan K Boyle, was living her quiet, unassuming life in the pretty hill country of Kerrville, Texas, when a friend sent her an email.
"It was a link to Susan Boyle's YouTube performance a few days after her audition," recalls Susan K. "I thought she was wonderful - what a beautiful voice and what a compelling story. But I thought it was just an interesting coincidence, nothing more."
Except that back in 2002, Susan K Boyle had set up a website, susanboyle.com, to display her artworks. That site had been rusting in cyberspace for a couple of years - until the Britain's Got Talent finalist sudenly came to the global consciousness last month, and something rather strange happened. "A journalist called me and said, 'Do you know your site is getting 1,800 hits per hour?' I had no idea - I hadn't upgraded the site for a couple of years." Yesterday, she calculated the cumulative total of hits to be more than 172,000.
Susan K's website shows her figurative line drawings and head studies in oil. Like her namesake, she has got talent, though not the sort to irrigate Simon Cowell or Amanda Holden's tear ducts.
And then the madness, as it does in such cases, began in earnest. "A couple of Susan Boyle fans emailed me to say they thought I sang beautifully. Another thought I sang beautifully and liked my artwork! Among the emails were inquiries for price quotes on a couple of my art pieces. However, I have had no sales as a result of this. Yet."
So is Susan K expecting a surge of sales as a result of the sudden celebrity of an unglamorous though sweet-voiced woman who lives on the other side of the Atlantic? "That would be too weird, wouldn't it?"
Next, she started getting calls and emails from people wanting to buy her website's domain name. "One guy, within a minute, had increased his offer from $100 to $500,000. I'm not sure how serious he was, but that sort of thing is very strange to happen to someone like me." She consulted a company called Sedo that sells domain names and, following their advice, has now put her web address up for sale for a cool $25,000. She hasn't sold it. Yet. (She has moved her artwork display, though, to sboyleart.com).
Surely she'll be rooting for her namesake to win tomorrow night's final? "I haven't heard the other finalists, so I can't say." Admirably diplomatic - but Susan K now has a pecuniary interest in the other Susan's success. According to Sedo's director of business development, Nora Nanayakkara: "The value of the domain name really depends on the sustainability of Susan Boyle's popularity."
I ask if Susan K's life story is as heart-rending as her namesake's. "I don't know much about her biography," she replies. I'm thinking of the fact that the 46-year-old singer from West Lothian claimed - apparently as a joke - never to have been kissed, at least until Piers Morgan made her life story even more harrowing by kissing her backstage last week. "Oh, I've been kissed," Susan K replies finally.
The 64-year-old from Kerrville is an art major who has drawn and painted throughout her life, while working mostly in the airline industry. "I was a stewardess, as they were called in the 60s, for PanAm. I left just before Lockerbie [the PanAm crash in 1988]."
In addition to Susan K's new website, her work can be seen in a show called Turning Point at the Hill Country Arts Foundation in Ingram, Texas, from 6 June. She is understandably eager for the media circus (ie me calling her at the prearranged time of 7.30am from London) to move on, so she can walk her "lovely old dog" and then get back to her art.
After the interview, she sends me a disarming email: "Please be kind to me in your article. Another outfit in the UK wrote about me yesterday and made me sound stupid AND greedy - and they hadn't even spoken with me!! Egads!"
For the record, Susan K Boyle is neither of those things (and I'm always a sucker for a woman who exclaims "egads"). She is, like her namesake, a breath of fresh air. The last thing the "other" Susan Boyle says sounds sweet coming down the line to this celeb-crazy nation. "I am an artist and am happiest in my studio working on my art. I don't deserve, or want, fame".
guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
The other Susan Boyle
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
The other Susan Boyle
[Source: News Argus]
The other Susan Boyle
[Source: Television News]
The other Susan Boyle
[Source: Daily News]
The other Susan Boyle
[Source: Wb News]
posted by 77767 @ 7:11 PM,
,
Multimedia
Top Stories
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links