President Obama on Mubarak Stepping Down: The Egyptian People Have Changed the World

Feb 12, 2011

U.S. President Barack Obama gave a stirring speech just now about the Egyptian revolution that I am fairly certain did not once mention the name of the deposed Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.  He began, “The people of Egypt have spoken.  Their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.”
But Obama was careful to temper his enthusiasm about the amazing accomplishments of the Egyptian protesters with a warning about the need for a smooth transition of power, saying, “This is not the end of Egyptian transition… it’s a beginning… I’m sure there will be difficult days ahead but I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully.”
He indirectly addressed the Egyptian military several times throughout his concise speech, noting that the “Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.”  He added, “The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state and will now have to ensure an irreversible change, laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free.”
Obama assured world leaders that “The U.S. will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt.  We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary to pursue a credible transition to a democracy.”  He talked about the youth in Egypt and their ability to create jobs and businesses, lauding their use of creativity and technology to help this sweeping change come to pass.  Most notably, though, Obama stressed the peaceful nature of the protests, both on the part of the Egyptian people and the military.  “Non-violence,” he said, is “a moral force that bent the ark of history toward justice once more.”  Muslims and Christians, he declared, stood in Liberation Square chanting, “We are one,” illuminating to all people that “we can be defined by the common humanity we share.”
“The wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights,” Obama said.  He quoted a protest leader as saying, “Most people have discovered in the last few days that they are worth something and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.”
Toward the end of his address, Obama said, “Today belongs to the people of Egypt… the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo” because they reflect our values, the Egyptian people pushing so bravely to create “the kind of world we want our children to grow up in.”

DID LINDSAY LOHAN’S WHITE DRESS REALLY SELL OUT AFTER ITS COURTROOM DEBUT?

Feb 11, 2011

byYM OUSLEYFebruary 10, 2011
Lindsay Lohan and court controversy is nothing new, but her latest appearance proves someone out there is still inspired by the troubled entertainer – or so someone would have you believe.
After wearing a tightly fitted white Kimberly Ovitz dress to face grand theft charges over a necklace the star claims she “borrowed,” the $575 dress reportedly sold out at online retailers who carried the dress. {ABC News}
Here’s our problem with giving Lohan credit for that: on Kimberly Ovitz’s site, the “Glavis” dress, which is available in 3 other colors besides the white version Lohan wore, has a note by it saying “Pre-Order available if out of stock for April 2011 delivery.” That same note appears for every other color, which leads us to believe that any retailers who were stocking the dress may not have had many to begin with, or at best may be reporting pre-sales figures. Which is nice, but not the same thing as selling out of the actual item.
Also, the dress appears to be in stock on Ovitz’s own site, and a search on ShopStyle – which usually turns up sold out items for at least a few days after they’ve gone out of stock – shows no sign of the dress. Neither does a search on Boutiques.com, which shows out of stock results in order to recommend current products. But that makes sense considering the dress is from the designer’s pre-fall collection, which probably wouldn’t actually make it on to websites or store floors until… mid-April (at the earliest). We smell a bonus for a clever PR agent.
So while we’ll credit Lohan with giving the dress a good deal of publicity, the jury’s still out on if her courtroom catwalk appearance actually did anything for sales.