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| Visit DC |
31.3.12
Washington DC's National Mall Sinking
30.3.12
Kate Spade Scout Bag makes a welcome return!
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| Kate Spade |
29.3.12
Planting Cherry Blossoms with Mrs Obama
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| Getty |
Women's Week of Action: Call five women by Friday
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| Obama/Biden |
Get involved with the Obama/Biden campaign's Women's Week of Action by pledging to call five women by this Friday (the 30th) to stress the importance of the Affordable Health Care Act.
Women have made great gains with President Obama's health care reform: they will no longer be charged more than men for coverage, and are getting improved access to preventative care such as mammograms, vaccinations and soon, birth control.
28.3.12
Kate Spade Hand in Hand Friendship Bangles
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| Kate Spade |
Perhaps our favourite item is these Hand in Hand friendship bangles, hand woven by women in Afghanistan. Available in five color combos and featuring the Kate Spade iconic charm, these are certain to be perfect for summer accessorising.
For more information and to purchase these bangles click here.
27.3.12
Spring Planting at the White House
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| Getty/Reuters |
The First Lady hosted the fourth annual White House Kitchen Garden planting yesterday with students and Girl Scouts from across the country. For this event, Mrs O wore black trousers, a melon colored tee shirt and casual sneakers.
2012 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Winners Announced
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| Google Images |
Three former Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were part of a unanimous decision to legalize same-sex marriage in that state have been named this year’s recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™. Former Iowa Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and former justices David Baker and Michael Streit were chosen in recognition of the political courage and judicial independence each demonstrated in setting aside popular opinion to uphold the basic freedoms and security guaranteed to all citizens under the Iowa constitution.
Also being honored with a 2012 Profile in Courage Award is Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to Syria, whose bold and courageous diplomacy has provided crucial support to Syrians struggling under the brutal regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The prestigious award for political courage, announced today by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, will be presented by Caroline Kennedy at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday, May 7.
“This year’s Profile in Courage Award honorees have shown uncommon valor as public servants,” said Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. “When Justices Baker, Streit, and Ternus joined a unanimous decision to overturn a law denying same-sex couples the privileges of marriage, they sacrificed their own futures on the Court to honor Iowa’s constitution and the rights of all its citizens. In Syria, as a member of the United States Foreign Service, Ambassador Ford has boldly carved a new path of diplomacy, risking his own safety in the face of political turmoil and violence to show support for the Syrian people.”
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. The award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers, incurring the wrath of constituents or powerful interest groups, by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation created the Profile in Courage Award™ in 1989 to honor President Kennedy’s commitment and contribution to public service. It is presented in May in celebration of President Kennedy’s May 29th birthday. The Profile in Courage Award is represented by a sterling-silver lantern symbolizing a beacon of hope. The lantern was designed by Edwin Schlossberg and crafted by Tiffany & Co.
David Baker, Michael Streit and Marsha Ternus, Former Iowa Supreme Court Justices
In 2009, Iowa Supreme Court Justices Marsha Ternus, David Baker and Michael Streit joined a unanimous opinion which struck down Iowa’s ban on same-sex marriage. The decision was the first unanimous high court opinion on marriage for same-sex couples, and it made Iowa the third state to legalize same-sex marriage. The justices were aware that their opinion might not enjoy support from a majority of the public, but the Court stressed in its opinion that its responsibility was “to protect constitutional rights of individuals from legislative enactments that have denied those rights, even when the rights have not yet been broadly accepted, were at one time unimagined, or challenge a deeply ingrained practice or law viewed to be impervious to the passage of time.” Although the Court’s decision was unanimous, it provoked a political backlash. In November 2010, voters removed Ternus, Baker and Streit from office following an unprecedented campaign financed in part by national interest groups opposed to same-sex marriage. The justices’ ouster marked the first time since Iowa adopted its current judicial system that any sitting Supreme Court judge had lost an uncontested retention election. Ternus, Baker and Streit were the only three Supreme Court justices subject to a retention vote that year. They will be honored for the courage they and their colleagues demonstrated in upholding and defending the constitutional role of an independent judiciary, which has been vital to American democracy and historically responsible for the greatest advances in civil rights for all Americans.
Robert Ford, United States Ambassador to Syria
As U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford has taken extraordinary personal risks to bear witness to the violence and repression perpetrated by the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and to advocate for the human rights of the Syrian people. Ford has used social media to establish channels of communication directly with the Syrian people, providing moral support and encouraging them to embrace non-violent protest in the face of government-backed brutality. A former Peace Corps volunteer and then career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Ford has risked his own safety to show solidarity with ordinary Syrians and to defend the rights of protesters opposing Assad’s regime. He has continued to engage directly with opposition leaders, traveling around Syria despite repeated threats on his life. Ford will be honored for the courageous example he has set and the light he has shone on the power of creative and robust diplomacy to serve as a vital tool for advancing human rights.
This year’s recipients of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s prestigious award for political courage were selected by a distinguished bipartisan committee of national, political, and community leaders. Albert R. Hunt, executive Washington editor of Bloomberg News, chairs the 13-member Profile in Courage Award Committee. Committee members are U.S. Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-Maryland); Kenneth R. Feinberg, Chairman of the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; U.S. Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-South Carolina); Antonia Hernandez, president and chief executive officer of the California Community Foundation; Elaine Jones, former director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Caroline Kennedy, president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; Paul G. Kirk, Jr., former U.S. Senator (D-Massachusetts) and Chairman Emeritus of the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; Martha Minow, Dean and Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School; Shari Redstone, President, National Amusements, Inc; John Seigenthaler, founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University; David M. Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Tom McNaught, executive director of the Kennedy Library Foundation, staffs the Committee.
26.3.12
25.3.12
24.3.12
This Week on the Hill...
23.3.12
10th Anniversary of the Afghan Women's Council
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| Department of State- Office of Global Women's Issues |
For more information visit: The State Department- Office of Global Women's Issues
Week of Action for Women's Health: March 23rd-30th
It's two years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law tomorrow, and to commemorate this landmark achievement, the Obama Biden Campaign is holding a Week of Action for Women's Health from March 23rd- March 30th. Campaigners will be meeting, organizing and making phone calls to remind the country how important the Affordable Care Act is.
For more information visit: Women's Week of Action
22.3.12
Ms Motivator: Exclusive Interview with Philippa Davies
I recently attended an excellent event honouring International Women's Day, where by matter of luck the guest speaker was Philippa Davies. Philippa is an exceptional motivational speaker, with a successful career spanning the fields of psychology, business and politics. Her great speech really focussed my mind to sort out my life, re-establishing my goals, dreams and objectives both on a personal and professional level.
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| Philippa Davies |
Philippa took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to me and answer some questions, as well as providing some motivational advice for you, the reader.
What attracted you into pursuing a career in psychology, specifically in the field of business?
I started off reading drama at university, acted a little and then achieved a big ambition by going to drama school and qualifying as a voice teacher. Starting Voiceworks, a communication skills training company, made me realize that individual psychology played a huge part in how we speak and influence each other - so I went off and did a Master's in Business Psychology at London University.
We built up a business client list rapidly and I realized that I loved working with bright people in this sector. As a drama student, I'd thought this sector might be boring... how wrong was that!
How has the digital world changed your life?
Since then I've helped many people set up blogs and sites, produced e-books and videos and written apps. With a friend, I co-run Wordpress Users Wales, which is a learning network for developers, designers and content creators.
Since then I've helped many people set up blogs and sites, produced e-books and videos and written apps. With a friend, I co-run Wordpress Users Wales, which is a learning network for developers, designers and content creators.
Tremendously. Just by great good luck John Lewis, the UK retailer, asked me to help with their dotcom integration, so I went off to learn basic HTML and CSS. Heavily recommend more women do this...as it enables you to be a one-stop content creator...
What has been your most challenging consultancy role to date?
Well I am about to embark on a project which is very challenging, helping university academics review their Impact Skills. This is a very controversial area and one that is of course very difficult to measure and begs questions like 'Where and on who, should academics have impact?' and 'Should academics be appraised, for instance, on their knowledge of employability in their sector?'
I'd have to say. too, that working in 10 Downing Street for Sir John Major and for Lord Mandelson on the 1997 Labour Election campaign was also challenging - but actually so frantic and full-on, that I never had time to see it like that...
What do you enjoy most about your profession?
Am lucky enough to meet and work with some extraordinarily bright and dedicated people - and I love the requirement to totally immerse myself in a situation and its development need. Love to try and think incisively about what can be done, practically.
If you could consult anyone or any company, who would it be?
I would love to consult young aspiring female politicians for their future import.
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| Secretary Clinton |
Which female individuals inspire you, both professionally and personally?
I like leftish women who do their own thing well : Barbara Castle, Betty Boothroyd, Hillary Clinton, Yvette Cooper - and in Wales, our Assembly Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler. All these women have remained strongly feminine, and seem to me to combine dignity with compassion.
How would you encourage young women interested in succeeding in the worlds of politics/business to do their best?
Become specialists in what they love best. Engage with science, technology and economics and involve them in whatever your passion is. There is such mystique around these subjects which can be off putting and they are not always well-taught in school.
Remember that a rudimentary knowledge of the web can enable you to communicate with potentially very large groups of people. You can show what you are capable of here - without needing to big yourself up...
Seek out people of integrity who share you passions and do stuff with them - create projects - even if these are not in anyway linked to your current job/study remit. It is these networks of like-minded supporters who will sustain you through life.
If you could give one piece of advice to a young girl/woman just beginning their professional life, what would it be?
Prepare yourself to be isolated, ignored and sidestepped when you start to be successful and do what you believe in - and work out a way of being bossy without worrying about attractiveness... Cherish and value your close family and friends - for they will sustain you when the going gets tough. And it will get tough if you are going to get anywhere...
What are your upcoming projects?
Well- one is partly inspired by you, Laura! - and it is web project to celebrate inspirational women, from all walks of life. This is to be a collective enterprise and if anyone reading this would like to get involved then please contact me.
I am helping General Electric build up a women's network, which am very looking forward to.
And then my novel about the women in the 1984/85 miners strike in the UK, 'The Gritties' is coming out at the start of May, so I will be trying to interest people in that.
Digital agencies and events organizers are asking for talks on blogs and e-books, so am starting a site to teach people on this: http://www.pjpublisher.com/
And I have http://www.mrsmotivator.com/ to keep updating - which links to the practical work I do as a psychologist.
Oh, and the teenage sons with-bottomless-pits-for-stomachs here, will mean this will all gets done in between a heck of a lot of food shopping...
For more information about Philippa's work, career and to get in touch with her, visit: http://www.mrsmotivator.com/
A BIG thank you to Philippa for answering my questions, and I hope you all feel suitably inspired and fired up to take on the world!
21.3.12
Little Rock Airport re-named after Bill and Hillary Clinton
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| Tumblr |
"Hillary and I are humbled by the Little Rock Airport Commission's decision this morning," said President Bill Clinton. "We are grateful for this honor and for all that the people of Arkansas have done for us. And we look forward to many happy landings at the airport in the years ahead."
The Obama Family attends Sunday Service
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| Getty |
20.3.12
Mrs O in Minnesota
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| AP |
19.3.12
17.3.12
This Week on the Hill...
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| Getty/AP |
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