Monday Dedication for Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center in Little Rock…

LITTLE ROCK, AR (News Release) – From art projects to zoo animals, dedication activities of the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street, will have something for everyone.

Many events, such as storytimes, a performance by the Kinders, a book giveaway, and a community art project, will be held at various times from 1 – 3:30 p.m. on Monday, July 8.

Children will have the opportunity to read to the dogs of Tail Waggin’ Tutors, to meet animal ambassadors from the Little Rock Zoo, and to try healthy snacks in the teaching kitchen.

Kids can also get creative outside with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, or they may explore the nature trails.

The Children’s Library offers over 21,000 books, DVDs, and CDs, which will be available for check-out.

CALS’s Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center is one of fourteen CALS branches serving Pulaski and Perry counties.

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Monday-Dedication-for-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton/z2K2BO1SgEis8rozRTlEYg.cspx?rss=315

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Hillary Clinton to Visit Toronto for Editorial Conference on Canada’s Top 100 Employers Project

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

As she weighs a presidential bid, Hillary at work…

By Domenico Montanaro, Deputy Political Editor, NBC News Follow @DomenicoNBC It’s nice work, if you can get it.

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.

Top Democrat: Hillary Clinton Would “Clear The Field” In 2016

O’Malley, Cuomo, and Biden would all make way, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer predicts. “I don’t know that anybody would run against Hillary.”

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.

Hillary Clinton is not just sleeping in as new website indicates desire to stay in the spotlight…

If she’s planning on a presidential run there are few clues to be gleaned from Clinton’s freshly launched website HillaryClintonOffice.com.

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.”

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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.

MERRY CHRISTMAS – HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2012

Secretary Clinton aims to fix future path of US-EU policy

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Hillary Clinton will give five artists medals for embassy art

The honors will go to Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahazia Sikander, Kiki Smith and Carrie Mae Weems.

By Mike Boehm

November 30, 2012

For 50 years the U.S. State Department has been deploying visual art as part of the art of diplomacy, via a program called Art in Embassies.

On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts to five artists who have shown “an enduring commitment” to the effort: Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahazia Sikander, Kiki Smith and Carrie Mae Weems.

It’s the first time the award has been given – and its future will likely depend on whether Clinton’s successors want to make it a tradition.

The State Department uses art to generate goodwill in foreign countries by organizing temporary exhibitions and other art events at U.S. embassies and ambassadors’ residences. The exhibitions are group efforts, featuring artists from the host countries as well as Americans.

Staff curators for Art in Embassies stock the shows with loans from artists, collectors and museums. Since 2000, the program has gotten into the art-acquisition business as well, picking works to permanently adorn newly built embassies and consulates.

For the new U.S. embassy in Beijing, which opened in 2008, Koons provided one of his huge “Tulips” sculptures to stand outside as a 10-year loan. It’s identical to one that fetched $30.7 million earlier this month when it was auctioned by Christie’s in New York City.

The art inside the Beijing Embassy includes “Eagle Landing on Pine Branch,” one of Cai Guo-Qiang’s images scorched on paper with gunpowder. After the honors luncheon at the State Department, Cai is scheduled to use his explosive fireworks technique to light up a 40-foot pine tree outside the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art.

The intended effect is a tree image in floating black smoke that will serve as an ethereal doppelganger for the real one. In downtown L.A. last April, Cai scorched a work called “Mystery Circle” onto an exterior wall of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen Contemporary building.

LA Times

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US Secretary Hillary Clinton to visit Belfast

The White House has confirmed that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to visit Northern Ireland.

She will travel to Belfast on 7 December to meet officials as well as discuss the peace process and investment opportunities.

The visit, part of a four-day trip that will also take in Dublin, the Czech Republic and Belgium, could be one of her last foreign engagements.

Her term ends next month, and she has said she does not want a second term.

Mrs Clinton, who visited Northern Ireland three times with her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, during the 1990s, plans to discuss the trilateral US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership and economic opportunities for Northern Ireland.

Later Mrs Clinton will take part in an event hosted by The Ireland Funds – a global fundraising network supporting programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education, and community development in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Her journey to Belfast will follow a host of engagements in the Republic. In Dublin she is expected at a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and will discuss areas of co-operation in promoting peace, human rights, and economic growth with Irish officials to discuss.

She is due to deliver a major speech on US achievements in support of human rights globally.

Mr and Mrs Clinton visited Northern Ireland three times during his time in office from 1993 and 2001.

The most memorable was in 1995 when they turned on the Christmas lights in Belfast just a year after the first  IRA  ceasefire.

Mrs Clinton has also come to Northern Ireland without her husband.

In 1999 she gave a keynote address to a women’s conference and in October 1997 gave the Tip O’Neill Memorial lecture at  the University of   Ulster’s Magee campus in Londonderry.

She has also addressed the Northern Ireland Assembly.

BBC NEWS

SECRETARY CLINTON- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

MANY HAPPY RETURNS on your 65th.  Birthday!

Thinking of you on your special day
and hoping the year ahead
brings all the things
you’re wishing for.

FROM ALL OF ‘US’ TO YOU~ happy birthday…

Head of State: Hillary Clinton

 

Hillary Clinton, the blind dissident, and the art of diplomacy in the Twitter era.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down on a plush yellow couch at the J.W. Marriott late on a Saturday morning in early May. The Beijing skyline sparkled, uncharacteristically sunny and smog-free, out the window of her 23rd-floor suite, and she was wearing sunglasses even though we were indoors, “an eye infection,” she said apologetically. Clinton seemed surprisingly upbeat, especially considering that just a day earlier, she had come uncomfortably close to a major public rebuff by the Chinese — much closer, in fact, than anyone yet realized. “It was a standoff,” she told me, “for 24 difficult hours.”

Until our conversation, Clinton had said virtually nothing publicly about the case of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese dissident whose fate had become the object of a week of frenetic negotiations when his escape from village house arrest to the U.S. Embassy collided with a visit to Beijing by Clinton herself. Amid the unfolding drama, the secretary had smiled and nodded her way through elaborately choreographed high-level annual talks and a variety of photo ops at which she gamely recited paeans to constructive dialogue and plugged cut-rate cookstoves for the developing world.

But Clinton had in fact spent the last few days in hard-nosed deal-making with the Chinese that nearly ended in an embarrassing failure, until she personally intervened, twice, with her counterpart, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo: the first time to reassure Dai about a deal to allow Chen to stay in China and study law; then, when Chen balked at that, to secure agreement that he and his family could leave for the United States. “We were in a very difficult position because we had pushed their system just about to the breaking point,” recalled a senior official who was present. “We knew it, they knew it, and they knew we knew it.”

Her final encounter with Dai came, at her request, in an early-morning session in a room at the Diaoyutai compound where, 40 years earlier, Nixon had stayed when he famously met Mao to reopen U.S.-China relations. It was just hours before the close of the formal Strategic and Economic Dialogue that was the ostensible purpose of Clinton’s trip; if Clinton had no agreement by then, they both knew it would open a rift in their relationship and create a political disaster back in Washington, where the secretary and her team were being accused of fumbling an important human rights case by delivering the sick dissident to a Beijing hospital and right back into the hands of his persecutors.

Still, the Chinese did not give in. At one point, an advisor who was present recalled, Clinton finally seemed to catch their attention by mentioning what a political circus the case had become — with Chen even dialing into a U.S. congressional hearing that Thursday by cell phone from his hospital bed to say he feared for his safety if he remained in China. The Chinese team was visibly surprised. Eventually, Dai agreed at least to let the negotiations proceed. A few hours later, exhausted U.S. officials announced a deal.

By the next morning when we met, it was already clear this had been the most intense high-stakes diplomacy of Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. She had worked hard to rescue Chen without blowing up the American relationship with China, but it was not yet obvious whether she had accomplished either goal. The Chinese were furious about the embarrassing attention to their human rights abuses. Clinton and her aides were being pilloried at home by everyone from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to the human rights community for abandoning Chen at the hospital. And the secretary was still worried about the deal. “Until he’s actually out and up with his family,” she told me, “it’s still touch and go.”

Listening to Clinton recount the episode, it was hard not to think of her own journey from idealistic human rights crusader to hardheaded global diplomat. Back in 1995, on her first trip to Beijing as first lady, Clinton’s impassioned speech declaring “women’s rights are human rights” was so inflammatory the Chinese blacked out the broadcast. By 2009, when she made her first visit as secretary of state, she was determined to avoid that kind of controversy — so determined, in fact, that she created one by declaring that human rights was just one of many issues she would raise with her Chinese counterparts.

continued… more:

Head of State

Hillary in Paris…

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the third meeting of the “Friends of Syria” group in Paris July 6, 2012.