Los Angeles, U.S.A. — After more than 2.4 million votes were cast internationally, ‘Hunger Games’ humble yet fierce Jennifer Lawrence took the number one position on AskMen’s “Top 99 Most Desirable Women” list. In the poll, which surveyed AskMen readers, Lawrence shot up ahead of her Hollywood peers, including Kristen Stewart (No. 7), Jessica Biel (No. 24), Charlize Theron (No.97) and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who dropped from No. 8 on last year’s list to No. 98 this year.

The 12th edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women poll, calls on AskMen readers to elect women who most closely match their ideals. These men were tasked with voting on more than just sex appeal, taking into account character, intelligence, talent, sense of humor, professional success, achievements in 2012 and potential for 2013.

Lawrence’s victory follows an incredible 2012 for the 22-year-old starlet, whose breakout performances in ‘Hunger Games’ and ‘Silver Lining Playbook’ turned the heads of men worldwide and pinned her as the next big thing. Lawrence is followed by ‘TED’ actress Mila Kunis, who has consistently appeared on AskMen’s Top 99 since 2008 a Sports Illustrated turned Vogue model Kate Upton stayed high up on the list, landing at No. 3, dropping only one spot from the 11th edition of the list.

With more than 40% of the women on the list appearing for the first time, it’s fair to say there is a new breed of strong and independent women taking over. Take Lawrence’s No. 1 ranking after her fearless roles, or Claire Danes, who earned an Emmy this year for her standout performance on Homeland, at No. 20. Anne Hathaway shaved her head for her dramatic role in ‘Les Miserables’ and came in at No. 47. Other powerful women on the list include Marissa Mayer, President and CEO of Yahoo, at No. 59, First Lady Michelle Obama at No. 33 and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Russian activist-punk group Pussy Riotat No. 85.

James Bassil , Editor-In-Chief of AskMen, commented, “The top-rated women on AskMen’s 12th edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women list speaks to men’s growing comfort with strong and independent partners. While undeniably successful candidates like Marissa Mayer have rocketed up the list, the more ambiguous “career” women — like Kim Kardashian – have plummeted on it.”

The “Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2013″ features a new generation of leading women:

• “Girls” actresses Jemima Kirke (No. 51) and Allison Williams (No. 42), “Mad Men” actress Jessica Pare at No. 9, Beyonce’s sister, singer Solange Knowles, at No. 50, Australian Youth Olympian Michelle Jenneke at No. 10 and newlywed U.S. soccer team goalie Hope Solo at No. 30.
• Music icons have historically pushed boundaries on what’s considered desirable, and this year is no different, with American Idol judge Nicki Minaj dropping off the list and making way for newbies Azealia Banks (No. 49) and “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen at No. 75.

For a third year in a row, TV actresses dominated the list, with 24 TV stars claiming spots. “Modern Family’s” Sofia Vergara topped last year’s list, and she continued to hold strong at No. 12 this year. Has dating bad boy Kanye West hurt Kim Kardashian ’s image? The reality tv star dropped to No. 98 on this year’s list. Perhaps not, as “bad girl” Kristen Stewart ’s public infidelity had no impact on her desirability, which resulted in a climb from No. 27 last year to No. 7 this year. Likewise, Scarlett Johansson fell from No. 7 to No. 45. Will her upcoming sultry performance in ‘A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ on Broadway restore her sex appeal?

Votes for the 12th annual list also prove that men are loving women over 40, including Vergara (No. 12), Sarah Silverman (No. 23), Lucy Liu; (No. 69) and Rachel Weisz (No 72). First Lady, Michelle Obama , at age 48, is the oldest woman featured on this list, at No. 33.

For exclusive videos, photos and comments from this year’s honorees, visit www.askmen.com. Up-to-date coverage of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women can also be found on AskMen’s Facebook and Twitter.

Here is what some of the Top 99 women had to say
“Thank you Ask Men for choosing me this year! It’s such an honor and I hope I can continue being park of the AskMen family!” – Jessica Gomes, No. 8

“I love AskMen.com. Thank you for including me amongst these incredible women. Honored!” – Candice Swanepoel, No. 11

“I am hugely flattered to have been voted on to the AskMen Top 99 Most Desirable Women list. Please pass on a sincere thank you to all the readers who voted for me.”- Emilia Clarke, No. 15

“Being on the Top 99 list of askmen.com is extremely flattering! Thank you xx” - Chanel Iman, No.26

“Thank you Askmen.com! It is so amazing to be on your Most Desirable list!”- Olivia Culpo, No.36

“I am honored. I will adore this moment because I fear this title will drop next year because it’s hard to look amazing in bobsled with snot running down your nose” – Lolo Jones, No.41

Image Courtesy : Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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Towson, U.S.A. — Exis Interactive, a Maryland based game development company has released “Execuforce” a satirical 3d game for campaign and charity fundraising. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Obama presidential campaign and the wounded warrior project.

This is the first game to be used for campaign financing, and provides a new way to reach and engage the 18-35 year old audience. People who buy the game not only donate to these worthy causes, but they also get a great experience while learning about the candidates in the game itself.

This game is another example of how American companies are innovating, bringing disparate elements together to form something new and imaginative. Working tirelessly to push boundaries and find new ways to communicate with one another and the world. Games are great tools for dissemination of information, and a powerful medium for mobilization; They’ve never been used in this fashion before, and this project represents a shift in the use of new media to spread a message.

Players can take the role of Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan in a fantastical journey that pits the leaders of the free world against evil alien forces bent on enslaving mankind. The game allows players from all over the United States to play together in an online cooperative mode and help save the game world. In the real world though, these players have a direct impact by helping the campaign and our troops.

Campaign and Charity Supporters can buy the game at http://www.ExisInteractive.com/Execuforce/.

“This is a last minute fundraising effort to benefit the Obama campaign, and to directly aid the wounded soldiers who have given so much for this country. We think it’s important for everyone participate in our democratic process, and hope that Execuforce can help inform and entertain; all while getting critically needed funds to the campaign and our wounded warriors. Games are the most engaging way to interact with your audience and spread your message. Execuforce is the first game to directly aid campaigns via fundraising and we hope that other people interested in helping these causes will champion this project. We’re a small four man team and we want to help combat the onslaught of corporate money flooding the system. “ – Peter Kojesta, Founder of Exis.

Exis is an Indie game development studio founded in 2003 and creates AAA products for partner studios and publishers. The company is located in Towson, Maryland, directly across the street from Towson University.

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New York, U.S.A. — “The Dr. Oz Show” will welcome First Lady Michelle Obama, whose advocacy for child nutrition and health have been a cornerstone of her work while in the White House, to discuss two new issues that are part of her Let’s Move! Initiative – improvements to the federal guidelines for school lunches that go into effect this school year and updates to the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. The nationally syndicated, two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning “The Dr. Oz Show” will tape the show on Aug. 29 in New York City, to be broadcast nationally Sept.14.

As part of the appearance on “The Dr. Oz Show,” Mrs. Obama will talk about how the changes to the school lunch program will help kids become healthier. The new federal nutrition guidelines for school lunches include more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and low-fat milk dairy products. In addition, the First Lady will reveal improvements to the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

“Mrs. Obama works tirelessly to focus our nation on prevention and educate youth about the critical need to eat right and stay active. This message of prevention will imprint good habits on a generation of young people and result in longer lives and less disease. I am humbled and honored that the First Lady will appear on our show to ignite this conversation with my audience,” said host Mehmet Oz, M.D.

The First Lady and the White House are highlighting recent improvements to child nutrition and physical activity to coincide with the back-to-school season when children’s health is at the top of minds for many Americans. Her appearance on “The Dr. Oz Show” will air as part of the launch week of the top-rate daytime talk show’s fourth season, which begins September 10.

The two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning “The Dr. Oz Show”, hosted by the two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning host, Dr. Mehmet Oz, is now in its fourth season. “The Dr. Oz Show,” which is currently seen in 118 countries worldwide, debuted domestically in 2009 with the biggest ratings in nine years in daytime television.

Dr. Oz has served as health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” since 2004, sharing advice with viewers to help them live their best life from the inside out. Dr. Oz has co-authored six New York Times Best Sellers including “YOU: The Owner’s Manual,” “YOU: The Smart Patient”, “YOU: On a Diet,” “YOU: Staying Young,” “YOU: Being Beautiful” and “YOU Having a Baby” as well as the award-winning “Healing from the Heart”. He has a regular column in TIME Magazine and O The Oprah Magazine.

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Atlanta, U.S.A. — Monkey Joe’s, a national children’s entertainment facility known for its giant inflatable jumps and obstacle courses, has reached nearly three-quarters of a million total hours of jumping from customers, a benchmark that aims to combat the rise in childhood obesity and other health problems caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. With programs such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! bringing attention to the health issues facing our nation’s youth, places like Monkey Joe’s can encourage fun and alternative ways to get exercise.

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative launched by Michelle Obama that is dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. The program focuses on a variety of ways to encourage healthier youth, and it recognizes that physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle.  Sonny Crumpton, Monkey Joe’s brand leader, says that he sees Monkey Joe’s as a place to help with this initiative, as they strive to provide a fun-filled experience for kids to play and jump.

“We are proud to be able to contribute to our youth’s physical activity in a fun way, and we are thrilled to have reached such a high number of jumps,” says Crumpton. “The children always have a great time, and they are getting an excellent form of exercise without thinking twice about it.”

According to the Let’s Move! website, over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. At this rate, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives and many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems.

To reduce the risk of these health issues, children need 60 minutes of play with moderate to vigorous activity every day, according to the American Heart Association. Unfortunately, today’s on-demand entertainment from a variety of gadgets and busy family schedules often push intentional physical activity to the bottom of the priority list.

One way to get physical health back to the top of the list is to emphasize activity, not exercise. According to an article from The Mayo Clinic, a child’s activity doesn’t have to be a structured exercise program – the object is just to get him or her moving. The article continues to say that free play is an excellent form of physical activity for children. Monkey Joe’s allows for creative play and freedom of movement, all in one facility that has amenities for both children and adults.

Since opening its first location in 2004, Monkey Joe’s has reached 719,780 total hours of jumping at its 62 locations across the country. Monkey Joe’s is often the destination of children’s birthday parties, as well as walk-ins customers, looking to experience the active and fun atmosphere at Monkey Joe’s.  Monkey Joe’s attributes the growth and success to affordable rates, being open seven days a week, having a frequent customer incentive program, offering group rates and providing a consistent overall experience.

All Monkey Joe’s locations have committed to full jump sanitation from Swisher Hygiene, the country’s leading provider of commercial hygiene services. The service is intended to reduce exposure to germs and cross-contamination for all who visit and play at Monkey Joe’s, making it a cleaner environment than public playgrounds, schools, daycares and amusement parks.

A destination that caters to both children and parents, Monkey Joe’s provides wall-to-wall inflatables, including a main play center and a separate Mini Monkey Zone for toddlers. In addition to fun for the kids, Monkey Joe’s provides an unmatched parent lounge with comfortable seating, computer stations and flat screen TVs, allowing the facility to be the ultimate location for families.

Image Courtesy of  AN HONORABLE GERMAN

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Dallas, U.S.A. — Your choice of travel mate can make or break your ideal vacation experience. One sloppy best friend or chain-smoking cousin could put an immediate damper on the dream trip you’ve been planning forever.

Hotels.com recently conducted a national survey that sought out the top traits Americans look for, and avoid, in a hotel roommate. The poll also investigated additional elements essential to a perfect retreat, including the most popular destinations vacation-goers would choose to spend a free night, which celebrities they most wanted to share a room with, and which ones they would want to give the boot.

“Americans have spoken, and according to our survey findings, travelers are looking for smart, funny, like-minded individuals to enjoy their wanderlust journeys with,” said Taylor L. Cole, director of public relations and social media for Hotels.com in North America. “Hotels.com is perpetually fueled by the idea of ‘what drives you to travel,’ whether it be cuisine, adventure, shopping or art. This survey is an interesting extension of this endeavor because it takes a closer look at the question of ‘who drives you to travel.’”

Make me laugh

The top three characteristics that consumers most look for in someone they are to share a hotel room with are a sense of humor, trustworthiness, and similar lifestyle values. Intelligence, which came in fourth overall, was ranked higher in importance by men than women. Nevertheless, one thing both genders fully agreed on was that hygiene was important enough to round out the top five most sought-out characteristics.

The ultimate deal breaker

When it comes to characteristics travelers least look for in someone that they are to share a hotel room with, being a smoker was the undisputed, least desired trait with a total of 66 percent of respondents ranking it as the most unwelcome trait.

Sharing the presidential suite

Of the over 1,500 hotel-goers who took part in our survey, 18 percent of them voted First Lady Michelle Obama to the top of the list of celebrities, historical, fictional or political figures Americans would most want to room with on their next vacation.

The 18-29 age group was the only faction to set their sights on another potential roomie – Will Ferrell. Ferrell took the number one spot among the youngest group of respondents, followed by Beyonce. Michelle Obama tied for third with Natalie Portman and David Beckham.

The leading lady with the top vote from male respondents was Natalie Portman, who received 19 percent of the vote. Marilyn Monroe was another favorite among the guys, coming in a close second with 18.7 percent of the vote.

Don’t want your poker face

One public figure clearly emerged from the rest as the least preferred travel mate of all. With 24 percent of the overall response count, Lady Gaga was voted an undesirable travel mate by all age groups represented in this survey. Other objectionable figures include Ryan Seacrest and Spiderman.

No place like rome

When asked to identify the perfect place to spend a free hotel stay, the survey participants across genders and age groups almost universally agreed that Rome, Italy was the place to go. Again, the only group that diverged from this conclusion was the 18-29 year-old age sect, who favored the glitz and glam of Las Vegas, before Rome, which they listed as their second favorite.

Rome received 22 percent of the overall vote, while the second most popular choice overall was Paris, receiving 14 percent of the votes. Las Vegas proved to be popular among more than just the twenty-somethings by coming in third overall with 13.5 percent of the total vote count.

To earn free hotel stays, sign up for the Hotels.com loyalty program, Welcome Rewards, which gives members a free hotel night after booking and staying 10 nights. Even better, members have more than 65,000 properties to choose from, with no blackout dates.

Image Courtesy of  Domain Barnyard

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On July 18 Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday with a ‘quiet’ family gathering in the village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Mandela, from the Madiba clan, is the former South African President, and the first black president of South Africa.

Mandela spent 27 years in jail for an armed anti-apartheid campaign. When he was released in 1990 he ran for election in 1994 and won with the African National Congress party. The year 1994 was the first year that black South Africans were allowed and able to vote. After one term he stepped down in 1999 to give the Presidency to Thabo Mbeki. Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for the work he completed in his public life.

Every year in South Africa Mandela’s birthday is a large event. This year the day started off with a special song made for Mandela’s birthday. Twelve million school children sang the song across the country which included the lines “we love you father.”

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said that South Africans should be very grateful to “live in the same country, breathing the same air, under the same sun with Nelson Mandela.” Sexwale also coined the phrase “Mandela-ism: the spirit of selflessness, sacrifice…”

Nobel laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu claimed “Mr. Mandela taught us to love ourselves, to love one another and to love our country.”

Several famous US figures also celebrated Mandela’s birthday. On July 17 Mandela met with Bill and Chelsea Clinton and they helped him plant avocado and pear trees in his village. Barrack and Michelle Obama issued a statement praising Nelson Mandela’s “extraordinary life and steadfast commitment to the principles of democracy and reconciliation.”

Several schoolchildren also commented on Mandela and his service. Ten year old Thakgalo Ditabe stated, “Nelson Mandela set an example to show us that reconciliation is possible.” Twelve year old Ntando Ntuli said, “he is my hero because he fought for us. He is an icon, the king of Africa.

In South Africa Mandela’s birthday is a day of giving to the poor. Individuals are supposed to spend at least 67 minutes of time helping those less fortunate in celebration of Mandela’s 67 years of service. This UN-backed initiative has been criticized, according to the BBC, because it allows those at the top to not feel guilty instead of change things.

According to the Washington Post South Africa still has a lot of progressing to do. The education system is still terrible and the economy is still controlled by a minority white population.

Image Courtesy of  Archives de la Ville de Montréal

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NEW YORK, U.S.A. — The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum announced July 9 that First Lady Michelle Obama will celebrate the 2012 National Design Awards Friday, July 13, with a White House luncheon for the winners of the awards. In support of the First Lady’s emphasis on education and outreach to the Washington, D.C., community, the award winners will participate in an education program for local high school students from 9 to 11 AM in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Mrs. Obama serves as the honorary patron for this year’s National Design Awards.

“The First Lady is a powerful advocate for design innovation and education outreach, and we are truly honored to have her patronage again this year,” said Bill Moggridge, director of the museum.

The museum also announced the selection of Red Burns as this year’s Design Patron, in recognition of her outstanding support and patronage within the design community. Unlike the other awards, which are selected by a jury, the Design Patron is chosen by the museum. Burns is arts professor and chief collaborations officer for the Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She is being recognized for her role as founder of ITP and for her innovations and achievements in the communication technology field.

The Award recipients are:

• Lifetime Achievement: Richard Saul Wurman
• Design Mind: Janine Benyus
• Design Patron: Red Burns
• Corporate and Institutional Achievement: Design that Matters
• Architecture Design: Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects
• Communication Design: Rebeca Mendez
• Fashion Design: Thom Browne
• Interaction Design: Evan Roth
• Interior Design: Clive Wilkinson Architects
• Landscape Architecture: Stoss Landscape Urbanism
• Product Design: Scott Wilson

Founded in 1897, Cooper-Hewitt is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The museum presents compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily life through active educational programs, exhibitions and publications.

Image Courtesy of   Barack Obama

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New York, U.S.A – A balanced and healthy diet is crucial to good health and overcoming stress. In his forthcoming book called entitled Stress Pandemic, lifestyle and stress expert Paul Huljich shares a simple and holistic approach to nutrition, paying added attention to the effects of what we eat on our neurochemistry.

“Ensuring that we are supporting a healthy neurochemical balance is a vital and proactive step toward managing our stress,” Hulijch asserts. “When you feel tense, stress eating or emotional-eating is triggered like an automatic response. That’s especially so if your body reacts strongly to stress-released hormones.”

A 2010 study from the University of Michigan showed that when levels of the stress hormone cortisol were boosted in healthy, non-stressed adults, they ate more junk food. When people feel stressed out, most either stop eating altogether or binge on high-fat, high-sodium products such as chocolate, doughnuts, potato chips and other snack foods. And when combined with America’s growing portion sizes, people grow sicker, gain weight and develop bad habits that can endure a lifetime unless they say “NO” and take charge of what and how they eat.

Bad eating habits start young so where else to begin teaching kids about good nutrition outside of home but in this nation’s schools?  Thankfully, people like Michelle Obama are championing this crusade. Hoping to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity, the Obama administration recently announced its long-awaited changes to government-subsidized school meals, a final round of rules that adds more fruits and green vegetables to breakfasts and lunches and reduces the amount of salt and fat.

“As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat and ensure that they have a reasonable balanced diet,” Mrs. Obama said in a statement. “And when we are putting in all that effort the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in the school cafeteria.”

About 32 million children participate in school meal programs each day. The new rules are a major component of Mrs. Obama’s campaign to reduce the number of overweight children through exercise and better nutrition. The announcement came months after the food industry won a vote in Congress to block the administration from carrying out an earlier proposal.

“Children born in the year 2000 or later are not expected to outlive their parents,” stated Dr. David Katzof the Yale Preventive Medicine Research Center at a nutrition conference in April. Why are our kids so sick? One reason is that they eat too much bad food.  In March of last year, Dr. Katz quoted in a Wall Street Journal article that a “poor diet in kids is more dangerous than alcohol, drugs, and tobacco combined!”

If you can believe it, the top 3 foods consumed in America are hot dogs, white bread and coffee. And the marketing industry is capitalizing on our society’s obsession with eating junk food, evidenced by an announcement made last week by 7-Eleven, the nation’s largest convenience chain, of a low-cal line of Slurpees! The move comes at a time when companies have been marketing everything from “Spam Lite” to “skinny cocktails” aimed at calorie-conscious consumers.

Huljich believes that as a society we must revolutionize the ways in which we eat beginning with cutting out all the C-R-A-P (an acronym for coffee, refined food, alcohol and processed food). He also does not endorse the use of fad diets, counting calories or choosing to eat certain food groups over others.

His approach to a healthy diet, which is outlined in detail in his forthcoming book Stress Pandemic, is a balanced and practical one, which first identifies and bases his diet on the good foods and eating patterns in your life while eliminating the bad ones. “The human body is designed to thrive on a variety of foods therefore I feel a more holistic approach to diet is far more effective and supportive to overall health and well-being than any of those revolving popular diet fads can ever be,”  Huljich states.

“When you go on a fad diet and exclude any of the necessary nutrients, you’re putting yourself at risk for illness.” It is precisely as Gary Taubes warned in Newsweek’s recent cover story “The government has spent hundreds of millions telling Americans to exercise more and eat less. But the country is getting heavier every year. It’s time to change the way we think about fat.”

A balanced eating plan supports all of the body’s functions so that it can absorb and use nutrients efficiently and effectively. Health maintenance promotes physical fitness and disease prevention such as the risk for heart disease, heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.

America is a nation trying to find a cure yet not looking closely enough at the symptoms. By finding the courage to and wisdom to look at the root cause and going back to basics, individuals can learn how to master stress and live longer and healthier lives.

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Nickelodeon and the White House are joining forces to bring awareness to ways kids can support U.S. military families with a special episode of iCarly, featuring the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, premiering Monday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Leading up to the debut of iCarly ”iMeet the First Lady,” the stars of the hit series will appear at four screening events for military families across the country.

Nickelodeon will be hosting screening events at the following locations:

• Monday, Jan. 9 – Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in Miramar, Calif.
• Wednesday, Jan. 11 – Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn.
• Thursday, Jan. 12 – Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Fort Dix, N.J.
• Friday, Jan. 13 – Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Va.

“Having Mrs. Obama guest star on iCarly as part of Joining Forces, an initiative that supports and honors military families, was a great honor,” said Marjorie Cohn, President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon.  “Her appearance helps us teach kids how important friendship and support are to military kids and their families. Plus, not only was the First Lady completely at ease when acting, she also showed some serious moves when she joined the iCarly gang in a bit of Random Dancing!”

“iMeet the First Lady” will be preceded by a special dedication from the iCarly cast and Mrs. Obama to military families. Immediately following the premiere, Nickelodeon will debut a PSA that features ways kids can show their thanks and support. For more information, visit www.thebighelp.com.

Mrs. Obama watches iCarly with her daughters and chose to appear on the show because the lead character, Carly Shay (played by Miranda Cosgrove), is the daughter of an Air Force Colonel currently serving overseas in the military. In “iMeet the First Lady,” Mrs. Obama talks to Carly about her service to America as a member of a military family and thank her friends for supporting Carly during her father’s deployment.

In the episode, Carly and Spencer are excited that their dad is returning from active duty in time to celebrate his birthday and they begin planning a party to commemorate the occasion.  Unfortunately, Colonel Shay is deployed again and must cancel his trip home. Carly is devastated when she learns that she won’t be able to spend her dad’s birthday with him.  To cheer Carly up, the gang surprises her during their next iCarly webcast by transmitting a live feed to Colonel Shay.

The webcast catches the attention of high-level government agencies and results in an unexpected visit from Mrs. Obama. Having seen the webcast, Mrs. Obama is moved by what Sam, Freddie, and Gibby did for Carly and commends Carly for being such a strong and supportive daughter to a father in the service. iCarly series creator and executive producer Dan Schneider makes his first cameo appearance on the show as a Secret Service agent.

Nickelodeon’s multi-platform offerings for “iMeet the First Lady” include highlights from the episode on Nick.com and the special will also be available for purchase in HD via iTunes, Xbox, Vudu, Samsung, PlayStation and Amazon, beginning Tuesday, Jan 17.

Joining Forces is an organization spearheaded by Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, who have been leaders in supporting our nation’s military families and advocating for their priorities. The initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society – citizens, communities, businesses, non-profits, faith based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and government – to ensure military families have the support they have earned.

Joining Forces was created to address the unique challenges and needs of military families that Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden have heard firsthand during meetings with military spouses, briefings with military leaders, and many visits to military communities at home and abroad, and through their work on military family priorities.

Building on this groundwork, the initiative will focus on key priority areas – employment, education, and wellness, while engaging in a comprehensive effort to raise awareness about the service, sacrifice, and needs of military families.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/

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President Obama unveiled his deficit reduction plan on Monday and his tone was widely different. Gone were the days of Obama holding out an olive branch to the Republicans. Obama, finally, took aim and fired.

In his plan, Obama clearly stated that millionaires and billionaires would have to begin to pay their fair share of taxes. He promised to veto any legislation proposed by the super congress that cut Medicare and did not include raising taxes for the wealthy. “This is not class warfare.

It’s math,” Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism. He also called out Speaker John Boehner for his approach in earlier Bush tax cut debate. Boehner had stated that Obama would have to make some concessions. After concession after concession, Boehner and his party refused to budge, taking the same approach that they criticized Obama for taking.

The president’s proposal would focus on upper-income taxpayers, called the “Buffet Rule” after billionaire Warren Buffet has vocalized his low tax rate. The plan would also target tax loopholes and subsidies. Most of the cuts in Medicare would hit health care providers and not beneficiaries.

Although some benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, however far less cuts that the GOP proposes. His cuts also include $1 trillion over ten years from the troop withdrawal in the Middle East.

The deficit-reduction plan represents Obama’s longer-term follow-up to the $447 billion in tax cuts and new public works spending that he has proposed as a short-term measure to stimulate the economy. The new proposal also inserts the president’s voice into the legislative discussions of a joint congressional “supercommittee” charged with recommending deficit reductions of up to $1.5 trillion.

Defending his emphasis on new taxes rather than only spending reductions, Obama said: “We can’t just cut our way out of this hole.” Republicans reacted exactly as expected. They used talking points about tax increases destroying jobs, but did not provide any real substance. Boehner said exactly as Obama thought so, calling it “class warfare.”

“Veto threats, a massive tax hike, phantom savings and punting on entitlement reform is not a recipe for economic or job growth or even meaningful deficit reduction,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “The good news is that the Joint Committee is taking this issue far more seriously than the White House.”

Sounds nice from the right, but it is wrong. There are easy charts and facts that show when we had a higher tax rate; we had a hell of a lot more jobs. So, I am not sure why Republicans keep up with this myth, but so many people believe it. Trust me—in the words of George Bush—read my lips—taxing the rich will NOT cause any job loss.

The rich have had this awesome tax cuts for 10 years, and we have just lost jobs. So, this rationale is illogical.

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Speaking to Congress in Washington yesterday, President Barack Obama outlined the centerpiece of his re-election campaign in the form of a $447bn jobs package designed to alleviate the deflated US economy.

Following the painful deadlock this summer over the debt crisis, Obama made sure to urge swift agreement between the Democrats and the Republicans: “The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”

In the televised joint session, Obama proposed a package of targeted tax cuts and government spending which aim at reviving the American job market. Unemployment rates has been steady at 9% or above for more than two years now, the voters are frustrated and the President saw fit to call the situation a ‘national crisis’.

Bloomberg reports that the package includes a $105 billion infrastructure proposal for school modernization, transportation projects and rehabilitation of vacant properties. Infrastructure spendings are expected to deliver most of its economic impact next year while some areas have to wait until 2013.

The president explained that he expects the recovery to be driven by businesses and workers — not by Washington. Instead, the administration is gearing up to help from the sideline. An estimated $35 billion is proposed as direct aid to state and local governments to stem layoffs of educators and emergency personnel, according to Bloomberg.

Furthermore, the main targets of the package will be the workers and small business owners who would be able to look forward to cuts in payroll taxes as an incentive for new hiring and development.

A final highlight proposes to grant states the authority to pay unemployment benefits to people who have been out of work for more than six months while they train for jobs at businesses for up to eight weeks. To encourage employers to take in these long-term unemployed, the unemployment-insurance funds will make sure the training will be at no cost to the business.

Obama’s proposal was met with both standing ovation and stony silence but some Republicans were willing to admit that the package promoted some common ground. Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader and a frequent critic of Obama, said that areas such as extending the payroll tax and especially the tax reduction for small businesses did appeal to Republican politics.

“That’s something we Republicans have been advocating for quite some time now,” he said to Bloomberg.

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President Barack Obama launched a three-day bus tour, speaking in town hall meetings through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, but he emphasized that he is not campaigning yet. Obama, however, spent his speeches focusing on jobs and the economy while criticizing the GOP field of potential nominees.

The President criticized the Republicans for their uniform opposition to any deficit-cutting compromise involving new taxes. “That’s just not common sense,” Obama told the crowd at a town hall-style meeting in Cannon Falls, Minn. “You need to take a balanced approach,” he insisted.

Obama spoke about last week’s GOP presidential debate where all eight of the candidates said they would refuse to support a deal with tax increases, even if tax revenues were outweighed 10-to-1 by spending cuts. Obama didn’t mention any of the candidates by name, and prefaced the remark by saying, “I know it’s not election season yet.”

At another town hall meeting, Obama was questioned about his health care reform and used the opportunity to take a shot at Mitt Romney.”You’ve got a governor who’s running for president right now who instituted the exact same thing in Massachusetts,” Obama said, referring the requirement for nearly everyone to carry health insurance. “This used to be a Republican idea,” Obama said. “It’s like suddenly they got amnesia.”

Obama also criticized the anti-government message that the Republican Party embraces. “When you go to the National Parks and those folks in the hats, that’s government,” Obama said. “As frustrated as you are about politics don’t buy into this notion that somehow government is what’s holding us back,” he said.

Obama began his speech at the town hall meetings by criticizing Congress, accusing lawmakers of putting politics ahead of the country and calling on voters to tell them to cut it out. “You’ve got to send a message to Washington that it’s time for the games to stop, it’s time to put country first,” Obama said.

“I want everyone to understand here, I’m not here just to enjoy the nice weather; I’m here to enlist you in a fight,” he said. “We are fighting for the future of our country. And that is a fight that we are gonna win. That is a promise that I make, with your help.”

Not everyone was pleased with Obama’s town hall meetings. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and a few dozen protesters showed up in Cannon Falls. “We won’t stand idly by while he uses our hard-earned tax dollars to spin his failure to put America back to work,” Priebus said.

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For one week in late June, first lady Michelle Obama visited South Africa. This trip highlights the value of South Africa’s partner with the United States in many issues other than politics.

“What is significant about the trip is that it underscores the fact that South Africa, since the establishment of nonracial (politics) has had a string of credible elections, is a country characterized by the rule of law, and is a democracy,” said John Campbell, Ralph Bunche chair in African Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The first lady arrived in Pretoria, South Africa on Monday, June 20, with her two daughters, Sasha and Maila, her mother, and a niece and nephew. This was her fourth trip to the continent and her second solo official visit. The mission behind this trip was to focus on youth leadership and education, including meetings with key figures in the anti-apartheid struggle.

On her agenda, Mrs. Obama was expected to meet with South African President Jacob Zuma, Nobel Iaureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, along with 75 young women leaders including Brendah Nyakudya. She was also scheduled to visit Botswana, Soweto and Robben Isand, where Nelson Mandela was held for a majority of the 27 years he was in detention for fighting apartheid.

Though her schedule, released by the White House, did not mention a meeting with Mandela, Mrs. Obama met with him on Tuesday, June 21, accompanied by her niece and nephew.

On her schedule, she was expected to meet with President Jacob Zuma. However, Zuma’s aides said that he was “not available” to meet her. Instead, he arranged for Corrective Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to greet her on her arrival, and one of his three wives, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, to meet her briefly on Tuesday. Zuma was out of the country for the first day of Mrs. Obama’s trip, but returned Monday night.

Unfortunately, this trip coincides with a cooling in relations between South Africa and the United States. The previous week, President Jacob Zuma issued a sharp riposte to an appeal by Hilary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, to African leaders to help remove Libya’s Col Muammar Gaddafi.

“We strongly believe that the [UN Security Council] resolution is being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation,” he told parliament the day after Mrs. Clinton’s speech.

Many insisted that Zuma snubbed the first lady, but his spokesman, Zizi Kodwa, said that the president’s diary was full and could not be easily changed, and there was simply no time to fit Mrs. Obama in on her visit.

While Michelle Obama’s intentions for trip was purely for the youth, the trip had faced many criticisms and disappointment from Africa advocates who argue that President Obama, whose father was Kenyan, hasn’t devoted enough time to the continent since winning the presidency. The trip was meant to meet with the youth, yet Mrs. Obama focused her attention and time to meet key officials.

Mwiza Munthali, public outreach director of TransAfrica Forum, argues that U.S. officials “are not seeing Africa as a big priority. There has been some ambivalence.” The president has made just one trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his Jan. 2009 inauguration and has chosen not to accompany his wife on her journey.

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