TORONTO, May 16, 2013 /CNW/ – Former U.S. Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Toronto this fall to speak at the annual editorial conference on the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. The event takes place November 13-14, 2013 in downtown Toronto.

“We are honored that Secretary Clinton is able to join us for this special 10th anniversary event,” says Anthony Meehan, Publisher at Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. Now entering its 14th year, the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project recognizes the companies and organizations across Canada that lead their industries in providing exceptional places to work. Employers complete a detailed application to be considered for the national competition, 11 regional awards and nine special-interest competitions, including: Canada’s Top Employers for Young People, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Canada’s Greenest Employers and Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers.

The deadline for employers to apply to the 2014 competition is June 13, 2013. Winners will be announced in The Globe and Mail and two-dozen other media partners across Canada – collectively reaching over 13 million Canadians – beginning in October.

The organizers of the competition host an annual editorial conference, the Top Employer Summit, which brings together the best case studies from this year’s winners with world-class speakers and thought-leaders. The conference is hosted by Towers Watson and previous speakers include former Vice-President Al Gore, Robert Kennedy Jr., Harry Belafonte, Mia Farrow and Sidney Poitier. This year is the conference’s 10th anniversary, so the editors at the Top 100 Employers project are planning an exceptional two-day event.

“For several years now, we’ve had a capacity audience at our annual editorial conference,” explains Karen Le, Vice-President at Mediacorp. “The opportunity to hear Secretary Clinton first-hand is a wonderful way to thank our long-time attendees and mark the event’s 10th anniversary.”

For more information or to register for this year’s conference, please visit:

http://www.EmployerSummit.ca

Contact:

Karen Le, Vice-President, Mediacorp Canada Inc., Tel. 416-964-6069 x1460

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/hillary-clinton-visit-toronto-editorial-135900731.html

On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton begins what will likely be the most lucrative part of her life – so far – as she gives her first paid speech in Dallas, Texas. She’s expected, like her ex-president husband, to command a whopping $200,000-plus for each appearance. To put that in perspective, Clinton’s salary as secretary of state, where she logged more frequent-flyer miles than any American envoy ever, was a paltry-by-comparison $186,600.

That means if she gives just 10 speeches this year, she’ll take home a cool $2 million — before she pays taxes to Uncle Sam, of course. Clinton’s speech Wednesday at the posh Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas will be before the National Multi Housing Council and is conveniently located just 25 minutes from Southern Methodist University, the site of the George W. Bush presidential library, which opens Thursday. Clinton and husband, Bill, are expected to attend, as will the Obamas. Clinton’s remarks are closed to the press, but speculation abounds about what the potential 2016 frontrunner might say.

In particular, people will be looking for any clues about a future White House run for the former first lady, who would be a favorite to become the first woman president. Clinton’s won’t be the only paid speech delivered Wednesday by a potential White House hopeful. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, brother of the 43rd president, is also speaking in Dallas before The World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth. George W. Bush — who has stayed on the political sidelines over the last four years, tending to a painting hobby and making paid speeches of his own — told Parade magazine Sunday that he hopes his brother does run and doesn’t think his last name will hurt him. “I would hope that people would judge [him], if Jeb were to run, on his merits and his track record,” Bush said, adding, “So I hope he will run.”

Clinton, who routinely tops polls as the most admired woman in the world, stands to make tens of millions of dollars, potentially hundreds of millions, as one of the mostly highly coveted speakers on the globe. She’s signed up with the Harry Walker Agency, the same group that represents Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shaquille O’Neal, Martin Sheen, and Bono.

Bill Clinton has reportedly earned some $89 million in paid speeches since leaving office, including $13.4 million from 54 speeches in 2011, according to the most recent financial disclosure form his wife filed as secretary of state. That’s an average speaking fee of more than $248,000.

There is risk, however, in all this potential cash for the former secretary of state and New York senator. As reporters and campaign-opposition researchers follow the money, she will need to pick her speeches wisely, if she is indeed considering a 2016 bid. Presidential candidates are required to file financial disclosure forms, and in them, they’re expected to detail — among other things — their paid speeches. Political opponents will comb through for any potential conflicts of interest or payments from groups — or countries — that might be considered unsavory.

Rest assured, opponents will leave no stone unturned. While Clinton currently enjoys sky-high favorability ratings – 56 percent positive, 29 percent negative in the April NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll – she will quickly become a target for the right if she jumps in. Opponents already are circulating, for example, a Republican House committee report going after Clinton for her role in the handling of the run up to the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya. They’re all things Clinton will have to consider before jumping back into the deep end of the presidential pool — as she banks her millions.

NEW YORK, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be joining Newsweek & The Daily Beast’s Women in the World summit on April 4th and 5th at Lincoln Center. The annual summit, now in its fourth year, illuminates global issues through the voices of leaders, activists, artists, and pioneers who are confronting the most urgent challenges faced by women and girls around the world.

Joining Tina Brown as summit co-hosts are Diane von Furstenberg, Meryl Streep, Ai-jen Poo, Melanne Verveer, Julie Hamp, Dr. Hawa Abdi, Maya Harris, Nizan Guanaes, Jane Harman & Lauren Bush Lauren.

Other inspiring, trailblazing women who have confirmed their participation in this year’s program include Oprah Winfrey, Ambassador Susan E. Rice, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Ambassador Sherry Rehman, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, Eva Longoria, Ping Fu, and America Ferrera. The summit will also feature a special tribute to Nora Ephron by Tom Hanks.

This year’s summit will feature Pakistan’s young women fighting for education, new eyewitnesses to the atrocities in Syria, Latina leaders on the rise in American business and politics, and leading voices from the outcry in India to end violence against women.

To close the summit on the evening of April 5th, Diane von Furstenberg and Tina Brown will once again host the DVF Awards at the UN, recognizing and supporting courageous women who are using their resources, commitment and visibility to transform the lives of other women.

SOURCE Newsweek & The Daily Beast

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-secretary-of-state-hillary-rodham-clinton-to-speak-at-newsweek–the-daily-beasts-women-in-the-world-summit-199418621.html

Andrew Cuomo’s smooth ride as New York’s governor – high approval numbers, flattering newspaper coverage, little by way of fierce opposition – has suddenly hit a rough patch.
Much of it is in the form of a single, towering figure: Hillary Clinton. Gone from Washington, she has returned to Cuomo’s backyard, freezing his perceived 2016 presidential hopes as she begins the long process of deciding whether to run herself.

Meanwhile, generally positive media coverage of the governor has turned sour in recent weeks, with stories that reinforce criticism that Cuomo is too controlling and either insufficiently liberal or trying too hard to placate his skeptics on the left.

It adds up to a serious test of political skills and discipline for Cuomo, who makes every short list of likely Democratic contenders in 2016

And one of the biggest challenges is how to deal with the omnipresence of Hillary.

Few New York Democrats will discuss the Clinton-Cuomo dynamic on the record – lest they antagonize either powerful pol – but it has dominated private conversations for months. Often described as controlling herself, Clinton creates the air of unpredictability for everyone else with 2016 possibly in their sights — especially her fellow New Yorker.

“It’s really a crazy situation,” said one Cuomo supporter, referring to Clinton. “He’s totally trapped by her.”

Every move Cuomo makes, this person said, is seen as aimed at either furthering his 2016 ambitions or to countering Clinton in some way. Further complicating matters for Cuomo is the fact that his donor base overlaps significantly with Clinton’s (though his ability to raise money isn’t in doubt).

“He is going to have to position himself in a real way for 2016 if he’s planning to run,” the supporter added.

There are many other potential land mines for Cuomo now – including national media scrutiny that comes with the expectation that he wants to run for president. A story about Cuomo’s top aide taking to a radio station to lambaste a fired state worker by quoting from his personnel file ricocheted around Twitter on Friday.

With much of his future currently out of Cuomo’s direct control, the question is how focused he can stay on the task at hand.

“Andrew, like just about every politician on earth, has at times allowed some of the distractions to get his attention,” said Democratic strategist Jonathan Prince, who worked with Cuomo briefly on his first, failed gubernatorial run. “But the story of his race for attorney general through his race for governor, and including the last few years of his governorship, has been one of real focus and discipline. He’s got to maintain that.

“The challenge for any politician who is facing a series of external events that have the ability to shape his or her future is to remain focused and disciplined on the events and issues that he or she can effect,” Prince added.

Hillary Clinton is both the wife of the man Cuomo considers his political mentor, and the woman who every prospective 2016 hopeful gets asked about, almost immediately, in every interview. (Bill Clinton gave Cuomo his first major launchpad as U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary in the 1990s).

The best thing Cuomo can do, said Manhattan Institute scholar Fred Siegel, is “forget about 2016” and focus on improving New York state’s economy.

pgs 2 & 3 @ link:

LINK

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer predicted Tuesday that Hillary Clinton would “clear the field” of potential Democratic rivals for the 2016 presidential nomination were she to throw her hat in the ring, deterring runs for the White House from Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and even Vice President Joe Biden.

“I don’t know that anybody would run against Hillary,” Hoyer said in an interview with BuzzFeed. “If she runs, she clears the field. If she doesn’t run, I think Cuomo is a leading candidate and O’Malley is a leading candidate.”

Asked if he believed Biden was considering a run — the vice president joked last year that 2012 wouldn’t be the last time he voted for himself — Hoyer said, “I think Joe is really thinking hard about running. If Hillary doesn’t run, Joe will run. I don’t know that Joe runs against Hillary, though.”

In a Democratic field without the former Secretary State, said Hoyer, O’Malley would emerge as a potential frontrunner whose success with progressive ballot measures — voters in the state passed both marriage equality and the Maryland DREAM Act last year — would make him an attractive candidate to the party.

She’s the picture of presidential ambition.

Just days after becoming a private citizen, Hillary Clinton is stoking speculation about running for President in 2016 by launching a mysterious new website that boldly features her in an attention-grabbing photo.

A mass e-mail sent Tuesday by her husband Bill Clinton and their daughter Chelsea is adding to the speculation: It urges recipients to “thank Hillary for making our country and our world, stronger, safer and better.”

PHOTOS: HILLARY CLINTON’S BEST MOMENTS

“She inspires us every day — and we hope she inspires you, too. Please take a moment to send Hillary your personal note of thanks,” it adds, providing a link for fans to do just that.

When Hillary Clinton stepped down Friday after four grueling years as secretary of state, it was assumed that she would relax and recharge while contemplating her next move.

Her friend Ann Lewis fueled that notion, telling NBC that Clinton would “take some time, put her feet up, take a nap.”

RELATED: HILLARY CLINTON OFFICIALLY STEPS ASIDE FROM SECRETARY OF STATE POST, KERRY SWORN IN

So much for retirement.

The website and e-mail show that Clinton already has given great thought to the future — and that she wants to keep the option open of running for the White House, political consultants said.

“These are not the kind of things you do if you want to fade quietly into the night,” said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

RELATED: BILL CLINTON: AFTER NEW TESTS, HILLARY IS ‘DOING MUCH BETTER’

“It’s a long time between now and 2016,” he added, “and she can use this to create a candidacy, make people think she’s creating a candidacy or simply maintain her power. It’s a perfect strategic move.”

The new website emerged with no fanfare. Visitors to HillaryClinton.com, the remnant of campaigns past, were presented with a link directing them to the new address, HillaryClintonOffice.com, which was registered Thursday, 24 hours before Clinton left the State Department.

“It’s a long time between now and 2016,” he added, “and she can use this to create a candidacy, make people think she’s creating a candidacy or simply maintain her power. It’s a perfect strategic move.”

Speculation is running running wild after Clinton launched the new site as people are questioning if she’s planning a run to become the leader of the free world.

The new website emerged with no fanfare. Visitors to HillaryClinton.com, the remnant of campaigns past, were presented with a link directing them to the new address, HillaryClintonOffice.com, which was registered Thursday, 24 hours before Clinton left the State Department.

Aides did not disclose when Clinton posed for the smiling glamour shot at the new site. Clinton is not wearing the thick glasses she has sported in recent weeks to counter the double vision she suffered as a result of a concussion in December.

RELATED: HILLARY NOT THINKING ABOUT 2016 PRESIDENCY

The site also contains a contact form for visitors to fill out — allowing Clinton to add to her already robust mailing list.

Clinton aides downplayed the site’s significance, insisting that it is simply a way for fans and the media to reach Clinton now that she is out of office.

The mass e-mail was sent by her husband’s nonprofit foundation to its subscribers.

Analysts said that even if Hillary Clinton is inclined not to run again, the e-mail and website are smart politically.

“There is no downside. It’s always good for people to think that you might run,” said Hunter College Prof. Kenneth Sherrill.

“Should she want to endorse a candidate or … raise money for a cause she cares about, this is an extraordinary resource. At the very least, it’s a sign she’ll remain active in politics.”

On mobile? Click for video

LINK

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If you would like to leave a note Thanking Hillary for her service to the country, please do so in comments.

(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency) US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will Thursday launch four new Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) initiatives valued at up to 86.5 Million, at the US Department of State.

These new initiatives include: efforts to advance women’s clean energy entrepreneurship; a global partnership to promote affordable Internet access in poor communities; a new commitment to the Global Equality Fund which aims to protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons worldwide; and new investments in the clean cookstoves sector, the State Department said.

Secretary Clinton will be joined by Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and the Special Representative for Global Partnerships Kris Balderston.

Wanjira Mathai, daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and board member of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies, will deliver remarks.

The State Department has, to date, worked with over 1,100 partners and mobilized more than 650 million in public and private resources to support key foreign policy objectives including climate change mitigation, women’s empowerment, economic growth, and human rights.

LINK

Thursday, December 27, 2012 – 5:06 PM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will return to the State Department next week after three weeks of recovery from a stomach virus and a related concussion, The Cable has confirmed.

Clinton’s ongoing recovery will still prevent her from flying abroad, but will allow plans to move forward for her to testify in open hearing on the Sept. 11 attack on Benghazi, testimony that she was unable to give — as per her doctor’s orders — on Dec. 20. Her return to a public schedule could also end the weeks of conspiracy theorizing and wild speculation about whether or not she was faking or misrepresenting her illness to avoid testifying.

“The secretary continues to recuperate at home. She had long planned to take this holiday week off, so she had no work schedule. She looks forward to getting back to the office next week and resuming her schedule,” Clinton aide Philippe Reines told The Cable.

Reines declined to say whether Clinton was at her Washington home or her house in Chappaqua, New York, but he said she did spend the holidays with her family. There’s no definite schedule for her Benghazi testimony, but she has pledged to appear before both House and Senate foreign relations committees in January.

Since Dec. 9, when Clinton’s stomach illness was first disclosed as the reason she pulled out of a planned trip to the Middle East and North Africa, a torrent of conservative pundits and media outlets have suggested or outright accused her of avoiding the public eye. Insinuations that Clinton was faking or exacerbating her illness to avoid the Benghazi issue came from the Weekly Standard, the New York Post, the Daily Caller, hosts on Fox News’s evening shows, Rep. Allen West (R-FL), the conservative website Pajamas Media, the Investors’ Business Daily website, conservative blogger Lucianne Goldberg, and others.

The National Enquirer actually claimed that Clinton was suffering from brain cancer. “Considering the source I can’t believe we even have to say this. But it’s absolute nonsense,” Reines said.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton became the highest-ranking former government official to publicly accuse Clinton of faking her illness on Dec. 18.

“Every Foreign Service officer in every foreign ministry in the world knows the phrase that I’m about to use. When you don’t want to go to a meeting or a conference or an event, you have a ‘diplomatic illness.’ And this is a diplomatic illness to beat the band,” Bolton said.

“I certainly hope it’s nothing serious, but this was revealed in a way that I think that was not transparent, and I think there is an obligation here, especially if Secretary Clinton decides to run for president, to indicate what happened,” Bolton said. “She may beat testifying this week, but she’s not going to escape it forever.”

Bolton’s accusation came three days after Clinton’s doctors, Lisa Bardack of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group and Gigi El-Bayoumi of the George Washington University, issued a detailed statement about the secretary’s injuries.

“Secretary Clinton developed a stomach virus, leading to extreme dehydration, and subsequently fainted. Over the course of this week we evaluated her and ultimately determined she had also sustained a concussion. We recommended that the Secretary continue to rest and avoid any strenuous activity, and strongly advised her to cancel all work events for the coming week,” they said.

But Bolton accused Clinton of a pattern of avoiding the public that predated her illness and concussion. “The secretary has stayed out of the limelight ever since the attack of Sept. 11,” he said.

In fact, Clinton held 14 press availabilities and gave nine separate press interviews between Sept. 12 and Dec. 7, when she fell ill. She also briefed the full House and the full Senate Sept. 20 on Benghazi.

In an e-mail to The Cable Thursday, Bolton explained that his comments on Clinton’s illness were meant to highlight the administration’s lack of openness about her medical condition.

“A fair listener would understand that my central point was the lack of transparency about her status,” Bolton said. “Such a lack of transparency cannot be sustained in a presidential campaign, for example, where observers might infer that her condition was worse than it actually was. That’s what I said, fair and balanced.”

In addition to the Dec. 15 doctor’s statement, the State Department has issued four separate statements on Clinton’s health, on Dec. 9, 10, 15 and 19. Thursday’s statement to The Cable marks the fifth time Clinton’s representatives have spoken on the record about her progress outside of the State Department briefing room. In a background quote to ABC news Dec. 17, a U.S. official went into even more detail.

“According to the official, the secretary had two teams of doctors, including specialists, examine her. They also ran tests to rule out more serious ailments beyond the virus and the concussion. During the course of the week, Clinton was on an IV drip and being monitored by a nurse, while also recovering from the pain caused by the fall,” ABC reported.

Top GOP lawmakers have rallied to Clinton’s defense. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told The Cable that he believes Clinton has been honest and forthright about her medical condition.

“I have no doubts that Secretary Clinton has been ill and suffered a concussion. I know she will testify and statements to the contrary are misplaced,” said Graham.

In a press conference last week, Graham said he wants Clinton to testify on Benghazi before she steps down from office, but reiterated that her illness was real and serious.

“To those who suggest that she’s dodging her responsibilities because she’s not sick, I think that’s inappropriate and not true,” Graham said. “I know she’s sick now. I know she is not appearing because she really is ill.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) acknowledged the veracity of Clinton’s illness at her Dec. 20 hearing and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also backed Clinton up in a Dec. 19 Fox News appearance.

“I must say, I have never seen Secretary Clinton back down from a fight. And I have never seen her back down. And I believe that she is now not physically well enough to testify and she will testify the middle of January,” he said.

Outrage over the charge that Clinton has been misleading the American public about her illness extends well past Washington. The NFL Players Association, apparently concerned about the seeming trivialization of similar injuries, felt compelled to weigh in and admonish those who would downplay the secretary’s ordeal.

“A concussion is a serious injury that should not be discounted or belittled for political purposes,” NFLPA Assistant Executive Director George Atallah said in a statement. “The Players Association has worked tirelessly not only to address this problem at the professional level, but to educate the general public about the risks to youths playing sports of all kinds. Efforts to raise awareness and teach prevention are undermined whenever someone dismisses the impact of a concussion. We must set a better example consistent with what we know to be the medical truth.”

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/12/27/exclusive_clinton_returning_to_work_next_week