Madame Secretary, Cherchez la femme..

HILLARY CLINTON FIRST LADY

~ the extraordinary Hillary Clinton

The First Lady has never been more popular—or effective. As Mrs. Clinton begins a campaign to restore America’s decaying historical treasures, Ann Douglas finds that in her personal life, too, she seeks inspiration from the past.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

During Hillary Clinton’s four-day Save America’s Treasures tour to various historical sites in the eastern United States last July, large crowds of people, “presidential-size crowds,” as one reporter put it, packed every place she stopped. On July 14, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where the First Lady visited the Colonial Theatre, a turn-of-the-century architectural jewel that now houses an art-supply store, about 3,000 people had already gathered in the street outside by noon, though she was not due until 4:30 P.M. One man I spoke to said he was happy to wait. “She’s my girl,” he explained. A “phenomenal person.” A woman who expressed concern about jobs leaving the region was confident that “Hillary’s visit will be a shot in the arm for Pittsfield.” Earlier in the day, in Newburgh, New York, headquarters to George Washington for sixteen months during the American Revolution, I talked to various members of the African-American community as they cheered her arrival. “She looks much better and younger than on TV,” one woman commented. Several young men were more outspoken: “Mrs. Clinton got it going on!” “She’s the Chief!” “She canhave me anytime!”

People lined the roads in and out of the towns, holding up their babies, eager to get a glimpse of her. Near Auburn, New York, a small girl outside DB’s Drive-In ice cream store waved a sign at the First Lady’s bus: HI MRS. CLINTON! DO YOU WANT AN ICE CREAM CONE? To everyone’s surprise, the bus stopped, Hillary Clinton got out, bought a cone (a small vanilla-chocolate twist), and chatted with Marilyn Biss, the proprietor, a widow with five children. She insisted on paying, though Mrs. Biss tried to dissuade her: “It’s totally inexpensive, and you’ve been great for my lunch-hour business.” A boy with a blond crew cut rode his bicycle up to the store and looked through the window to see what all the excitement was about. “Holy Cow!” he exclaimed. “It’s Hillary Clinton!” Read more

….BUT LOOK AT HER NOW!

Madame Secretary Hillary Clinton

…her Brilliant career…

As Obama’s surprise (and reluctant) pick for Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton brings her star power and stamina to the global stage. Jonathan Van Meter reports.

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
It is a dreary morning in early October in Washington, D.C., and perhaps because Hillary Rodham Clinton is wearing a black Oscar de la Renta suit on such a colorless day, she seems somber. I had trailed her for nearly two weeks this summer in Africa and then again in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, and I had grown accustomed to seeing her in the vivid suits she favors. Africa is nothing if not colorful, and so not only did bright red or teal or periwinkle seem situation-appropriate, but her clothes somehow matched her demeanor, which was almost uniformly cheerful. Sometimes the color/mood connection was made overt: One morning, as her motorcade arrived at the U.N. for a panel on violence against women and girls, she stepped out of a shiny black luxury sedan in a red suit and was met by Esther Brimmer, her Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, also wearing red. “Good morning, Esther,” said Clinton. “I see you got the color memo.”

Today’s memo? Not today. When she walks into one of the many grand diplomatic reception rooms on the eighth floor of “the Building,” as everyone calls the State Department, she is clutching a big mug of milky coffee and is wearing no makeup. She looks tired and cranky. She is about to tape three I’m-sorry-I-can’t-be-with-you-here-this-evening videos for events she can’t attend. This is obligatory drudge work, to be sure, but it’s drudgery that requires her to suck it up and find that extra gear: She must be on. Clinton says hello to the group—not her usual effervescent eye-popping hello but a barely mustered blanket nicety. She sits where she is told, facing a teleprompter, and her ever-present and very chic deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, hands her a small case filled with cosmetics. Holding a compact, Clinton puts on mascara, lipstick, blush, and a little powder. She yanks her jacket straight, affixes her mic, and signals she is ready by sitting up and staring directly into the camera. And—click!—just like that, the public Hillary appears: upbeat, reassuring, in control, wide awake, means business. She nails all three videos in one take. Done. Next.

She walks into the adjoining ballroom, where she has been keeping Katie Couric waiting, and sits down to do a lengthy and tough interview on the war in Afghanistan and President Obama’s agonizing decision-making process. Not surprisingly, her mastery of the issues is dazzling. Even Couric is blown away. In fact, Clinton is so clearheaded on the subject, so eloquent, that it raises the question: Why hasn’t Hillary Clinton been more out in front on the most troubling foreign-policy issues of the day? read more..

…Because it’s not her job, she’s not the President! As if she doesn’t do enough, ya Jackass!

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This Just In: Australia setting the example to Muslims…

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – Australia

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Quote:

‘IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. ‘

‘This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom’

‘We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!’

‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.’

‘We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.’

‘This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, ‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’.’

‘If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.’

Hillary says: ‘Our Goal Is to Defeat Al-Qaida and Its Extremist Allies’

SPIEGEL Interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up as she leaves Manila at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on November 13, 2009. Clinton stopped off in the Philippines for a two-day visit on the back of her participation at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore earlier in the week. AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

Thumbs up from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to SPIEGEL about her hopes for Afghanistan, her fears about al-Qaida’s safe haven in Pakistan and her finite patience with Iran.

SPIEGEL: Madam Secretary, your government is considering sending more troops into Afghanistan. What for? Is it your goal to build a Western-style civil society there? Or is it just to prevent the establishment of new bases of terrorism?

Hillary Rodham Clinton : President Obama has not made any final decision. He has conducted a very deliberative process which has explored every assumption underlying every action. I think that this process alone has been quite productive. But I think it is fair to say that in the course of our examination, our goal is to defeat al-Qaida and its extremist allies.

SPIEGEL: And what does this mean for the Afghan population, for their daily life?

Clinton : We are hopeful for the future of the people of Afghanistan to have a better life, to have political, social, economic development. But we are in Afghanistan because we cannot permit the return of a staging platform for terrorists. We think that al-Qaida and the other extremists are part of a syndicate of terror, with al-Qaida still being an inspiration, a funder, a trainer, an equipper and director of a lot what goes on. Two months ago we have arrested a gentleman who was plotting, it’s alleged, against the subway system in New York who went to a training camp of al-Qaida.

SPIEGEL: There are terrorist attacks in Afghanistan on a daily basis. Therefore a lot of people in Germany ask: Do we really have to defend our freedom there? Should our troops die for a corrupt government?

Clinton : I don’t think they are fighting and sacrificing for the Afghan government — they do this for all of us. The soldiers in the Afghan army are willing to fight as well and they are often dying alongside our soldiers. It is very clear that the people in Afghanistan do not want the Taliban back. In every single survey that we have ever seen, they reject the extremism that they lived with from the Taliban. In order to accomplish the goal we set of having a country that is able to stand up and defend itself, there has to be an effort for more accountability; the rule of law; security. Our chances of success in this struggle are enhanced by a government in Afghanistan that can be a partner that can help to train and deploy a bigger and more effective security force. We have to try to better organize our efforts and try to demand more from the Afghan government itself.

SPIEGEL: After the election fraud in favor of President Hamid Karzai — shouldn’t you insist on a government of national unity, including his challenger Abdullah Abdullah?

Clinton : Well, I think that what we are interested in is an effective government. Who the personalities are is not as big a concern as having competent, effective, honest members of the government. But we are not only looking at the government in Kabul, we are also looking at the government throughout the country. Because very often, it is local governance, as it has historically been in Afghanistan, that delivers services, that provides security. So we think more has to be done with the local government structures.

SPIEGEL: Do we understand you correctly: The US government is thinking about naming local governors or at least influencing their nomination?

Clinton : I think that a number of us — not just the United States but a number of NATO members, too — agree with what Prime Minister Brown said last week: That there has to be more accountability. We do see this as in our national security interest, but part of being successful and protecting our interest is having a better partner in Afghanistan. And we will be making our views known and we will have certain measurements of accountability that we expect.

SPIEGEL: President Karzai has already made clear that he refuses to tolerate interference.

Clinton : We do not think that is interference. The most common kind of formulation that I and others have learned from the Afghans themselves is: We need your help to get us in a position where we can defend ourselves against the threats of the Taliban and al-Qaida-terrorists – and then we need you to go. Well, that pretty much summarizes what we want to do as well. We have no intention of staying or occupying territory. But we want to leave a stable enough situation behind that the Afghans can defend themselves.

Part 2 and 3 at link:
Link

Sgt. Kimberley Munley hailed as heroine for taking down Ft. Hood Shooter…

Friends hail police Sgt. Kimberly Munley for taking down Fort Hood gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan

“The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood by pumping four bullets into the crazed gunman even though she was wounded is known for her toughness, friends say.”
Before relocating to Texas, civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley spent about five years as a cop in North Carolina where she forged a reputation as a no-nonsense officer.

“I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m really not,” said close friend Drew Peterson, 27.

“She was born and bred to be a police officer. If you were ever to be in a fight, she’d be the first person to stand up next to you and back you up. She’s a tough cookie.”

Munley’s toughness and grace under pressure were on display Thursday when she and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire, said Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone.

Munley, who had been trained in active-response tactics, rushed into the building and confronted the shooter as he was turning a corner, Cone said.

“It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer,” Cone said.

Munley was only a few feet from Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan when she opened fire.

Wounded in the exchange of bullets, the 34-year-old Munley was reported in stable condition at a local hospital.

In a posting on her Twitter page before the shooting, she wrote: “I live a good life….a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

“Munley’s brother Daniel Barbour told ABC News that his sister had been shot three times in the hand and the leg. One of the bullets pierced an artery, requiring her to undergo surgery Friday.

The diminutive Munley – she stands 5-foot-4 and weighs about 120 pounds – served as a cop in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., before she moved to Texas to enlist in the military, friends said.

She is married with two daughters and is no longer in the armed forces.

“She’s the happiest, sweetest, most fun-loving girl you’d ever want to be friends with – and never want to cross,” Peterson said.

The hero cop spent Thursday night phoning fellow officers to let them know she was fine and to find out about casualties in the attack – the deadliest ever on a military base in the U.S., Cone said.

Cone said Munley’s aggressive response training taught her that “if you act aggressively to take out a shooter you will have less fatalities.”

“She walked up and engaged him,” he said. He praised her as “one of our most impressive young police officers.”

… … … … …

I expect to see Obama inviting Sgt Munley to the WH to praise her for her bravery and heroism under fire saving so many lives from the radical muslim afraid to fight for the country that gave him so much…. We’ll see!

UPdated: Kosovo unveils statue honoring President William J. Clinton

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks in front of his statue in the capital Pristina, November 1, 2009. Clinton is in Kosovo where he unveiled the statue on Clinton's Boulevard. REUTERS/Hazir Reka

PRISTINA, Nov. 1, 2009 (Reuters) — Kosovo’s Albanian majority unveiled a statue of former U.S. president Bill Clinton on Sunday to thank him for saving them by stopping a wave of ethnic cleansing by Serbia.

 

As the U.S. President in 1999, Clinton launched NATO air strikes to halt the killing of ethnic Albanians by Serbian troops.

Clinton’s speech was interrupted several times by Kosovo Albanians wildly cheering his name and U.S.A., and waving U.S., Albanian and Kosovo flags.

“I am profoundly grateful that I had a chance to be a part of ending the horrible things that were happening to you 10 years ago giving you a chance to build a better future for yourself,” Clinton told the crowd.

The crowd chanted Clinton’s name when the former president started shaking hands with people along a boulevard named after him.

“I never expected … anywhere someone will make such a big statue of me,” Clinton said after his 3-meter (10 foot) statue was unveiled.

He urged Kosovars to build a multi-ethnic country with the minority Serbs and other minorities and said the United States would always help Kosovo’s people.

“You have to build something good and we should help,” he added.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia last year and was recognized by the United States and major European Union powers — a total of 62 countries worldwide but not by its former ruler Serbia, Russia and China.

Grateful Kosovo Albanians also named a central street in central Pristina after former U.S. president George W. Bush.

Kosovo Albanians regard Clinton, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Clinton’s state secretary Madeleine Albright as their saviors and have named their babies after them.

Ismail Neziri had travelled 60 km (37 miles) to see the president again after they met in a refugee camp in Macedonia where Neziri’s family had fled to escape the forces of late Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Around 10,000 Albanians were killed as Serb forces moved to wipe out an ethnic Albanian guerrilla force and 800,000 were expelled to neighboring Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro.

“I was only eight years in a refugee camp in Macedonia when Clinton took me in his hands and today he is the same big and young man,” said Neziri, 18, holding a U.S. flag.

“In 1996 everybody was speaking that Clinton is a good man and he will help us, and then my father named me after him,” said 13-year-old Klinton Krasniqi.

LINK

********** more…

Thousands of ethnic Albanians have braved the cold in Kosovo’s capital Pristina to welcome former president Bill Clinton at the unveiling of a statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name.

Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO’s bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces’ crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.

This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.

Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted “USA!” as the former president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading “Kosovo honours a hero.”

Some peeked out of balconies and leaned on window sills to get a better view of Clinton from their apartment blocks.

To thunderous applause Clinton waved to the crowd as the red cover was pulled off from the 3.5 metre statue.

The statue is placed on top of a white-tiled base, in the middle of a tiny square, surrounded by communist-era buildings.

“I never expected that anywhere, someone would make such a big statue of me,” Clinton said of the gold-sprayed statue weighing nearly a ton.

He also addressed Kosovo’s 120-seat assembly, encouraging them to forgive and move on from the violence of the past.

The statue portrays Clinton with his left arm raised and holding a portfolio bearing his name and the date when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia, on March 24, 1999.

An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed during the Kosovo crackdown and about 800,000 were forced out of their homes. They returned home after NATO-led peacekeepers moved in following 78 days of bombing.

Leta Krasniqi, an ethnic Albanian, said the statue was the best way to express the ethnic Albanians’ gratitude for Clinton’s role in making Kosovo a state.

“This is a big day,” Krasniqi, 25 said. “I live nearby and I’m really excited that I will be able to see the statue of such a big friend of ours every day.”

Clinton last visited Kosovo in 2003 when he received an honorary university degree. His first visit was in 1999 – months after some 6,000 US troops were deployed in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission here.

Some 1,000 American soldiers are still based in Kosovo as part of NATO’s 14,000-strong peacekeeping force.

*******

Amazing! Such a truly great honor bestowed on our former president by a country showing their gratitude for the help President Clinton delivered ending the massacre of their people by a rouge dictator…. and the only photo I could find in the major news outlets commemorating Clinton’s legacy, besides the one above, is this one…. (Thanks to whoever converted the video feed to youtube.)

PIC UPdate: pictures courtesy of U-turning Hummingbirds during their migration to Argentina.

 

Ethnic Albanian children hold portraits of former US President Bill Clinton, during his visit in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Thousands of ethnic Albanians gathered in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 3.5 meter statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name. Following the 1998-99 war authorities in Pristina changed the name of the capital city's thoroughfare from Vladimir Lenin Street to Bill Clinton Boulevard. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Former US President Bill Clinton, centre greets ethnic Albanians during his visit in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Thousands of ethnic Albanians gathered in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 3.5 meter statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name. Following the 1998-99 war authorities in Pristina changed the name of the capital city's thoroughfare from Vladimir Lenin Street to Bill Clinton Boulevard. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Workers install a monument to former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina, Kosovo October 12, 2009. The government of Kosovo said that Clinton's statue will be unveiled next month, with the former president expected to attend the ceremony. Picture taken October 12, 2009. REUTERS/Hazir Reka (KOSOVO POLITICS SOCIETY)

Former US President Bill Clinton poses with ethnic Albanians during his visit in Pristina, Kosovo, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Thousands of ethnic Albanians gathered in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 3.5 meter statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name. Following the 1998-99 war authorities in Pristina changed the name of the capital city's thoroughfare from Vladimir Lenin Street to Bill Clinton Boulevard. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton cuts a cake during his visit to Pristina, November 1, 2009. Clinton is in Kosovo where he unveiled his statue on Clinton's Boulevard. REUTERS/Hazir Reka (KOSOVO POLITICS)