The Silk Road Ensemble, One Campaign, Mideast Crisis: Annie Lennox Interview Jan 6, 2009

Many of the musicians first came together under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma at a workshop at Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts in 2000. Since then, in various configurations, Ensemble artists have collaborated on a diverse range of musical 

and multimedia projects, presenting innovative performances that explore the relationship between tradition and innovation in music from the East and West.

The Silk Road Ensemble has recorded four albums and performed to critical acclaim throughout Asia, Europe and North America. 

Earth Hour 2009 Preview 

Make a Difference with Mediacom

Alexis Bledel is so green-minded that even her traveling pants will only ride in hybrid vehicles. OK, if you thought that was a bad joke, you haven't heard anything yet. Check out Alexis' attempt at standup in this cool new clip for Stop Global Warming, which proves that there's nothing sexier than a good sense of humor, especially when it's altruistic.

Alexis Bledel Global Warming

One Campaign: A Look Back

ONE members accomplished so much in 2008. While we map out the next year, let's take a minute to look back at our accomplishments:

ONE Vote '08: This election, ONE members met the candidates on the trail, wrote thousands of letters to other voters through our ONE-to-ONE program, got the candidates to go On The Record on global poverty – making ONE Vote '08 a grassroots powerhouse. The candidates, media and voters across America took notice, bringing unprecedented attention to our issues and historic commitments to fight global poverty from both Barack Obama and John McCain. ONE Vote '08 was also the winner of the prestigious Center for Global Development Commitment to Development Award for 2008.

Fighting HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria: The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a historic commitment to fighting global AIDS, TB and malaria. After five successful years, it came up in Congress for reauthorization and expansion in 2008. Passing this next phase of PEPFAR was literally the difference between life and death for millions of people and ONE members worked for months to help make this landmark reauthorization happen. More than 100,000 ONE members wrote letters, made phone calls, and signed petitions to get PEPFAR through the House and past the block placed on it by a handful of opponents in the Senate. In the end, your efforts helped PEPFAR to pass the Senate with 80 votes. More importantly, your efforts mean the U.S. will provide care for 12 million AIDS patients, including five million orphans and treat at least 3 million people. It contains strong increases in investments in fighting TB and malaria, two diseases that are at their most devastating in the world's poorest countries. And, in places desperate for doctors and nurses, PEPFAR will provide training for 140,000 new health care professionals.

Global Hunger Crisis: Rising food prices and long overdue investments in agriculture in the developing world led to a global hunger crisis this year that shocked the world. The response from ONE members was overwhelming, with more than 150,000 signatures on our petition to President Bush asking for emergency relief and for the crisis to be added to the 2008 G8 summit agenda. While there is still much to do, our voices were heard and several nations committed to provide critical supplementary funds to deal with immediate shortages and commitments – which we will be following up on.

EU Billion: In October and November, ONE launched a full-force effort to support a proposal in the European Commission to give €1 billion of unspent money from the European budget to struggling farmers in the developing world. We delivered our petition with more than 13,000 signatures to President Sarkozy's advisors in Brussels and Alain Joyandet, the French Minister for development. ONE members through Europe then directly e-mailed their finance ministers, sending over 5,000 emails in a few short weeks. In the end, the Commission, Parliament, and Council agreed for give a full €1 billion for agriculture.

Biden-Lugar Amendment to the 2009 Budget: The 2009 federal budget process that began early last year was a wild ride. At one point, the Senate proposed $4.1 billion dollars less than the President requested to the international affairs budget, which funds almost all anti-poverty programs. But ONE members didn't back down, making thousands of phone calls and flooding Congress with petitions, culminating in the passage of the Biden-Lugar Amendment by an overwhelming 73 to 23 bipartisan vote to restore the full $4.1 billion in funding.

Visit Africa: Back in February, more than 100,000 ONE members signed our petition asking the presidential candidates to pledge to visit Africa in their first term and the candidates heard you loud and clear. All four major party candidates in the race at that point – Senator Clinton, Governor Huckabee, Senator McCain, and Senator Obama – promised that, if elected, they would visit Africa in their first term – a huge victory in our ongoing efforts to focus on the next president's attention on global poverty.

Just ONE Question: Sometimes, even the most impressive actions you take don't get the desired response. More than 125,000 ONE members signed our petition to Jim Lehrer and then Tom Brokaw, urging them to ask Just ONE Question on global poverty at the Presidential debates. Unfortunately, in the wake of the financial market collapse, the economy dominated the debates and our question did not get asked, making your successful efforts to talk to the candidates directly on the campaign trail all the more important.

Bundestag Thank You: The German federal budget for 2009 featured an historic €800 million increase in development funds. To thank the German Parliament (Bundestag) for its efforts and remind their leaders to follow through on these promises, German ONE members - including celebrities such as actress Katja Riemann, film director Wolfgang Petersen, and entrepreneur Dirk Rossmann – signed a thank you card that was hand-delivered to the heads of the governing parties in the Bundestag, Volker Kauder (CDU/CSU) and Peter Struck (SPD). A postcard version was sent to all members of the CDU/CSU and SPD parties.

-Aaron Banks

Annie Lennox Video

Singer Annie Lennox tells Sky News why she is lending her support to human rights campaigners calls for an end to the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians. Update - Statement From Annie Lennox Regarding The Situation In Gaza - 6th January I have made my position very clear. I do not believe that there is a military solution to the situation in Gaza. I support peaceful conflict resolution, and dialogue, which HAS to take place inevitably in order to resolve the situation in any case. I do not believe that the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians will solve anything. It will only make things worse for everyone, on BOTH sides. I am posting a video from the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, who is saying EXACTLY what I have said consistently. There has to be an absolute cease fire as soon as possible. The reason why I spoke out when I did was because at that point in time there was a tiny window of opportunity to prevent a blood bath on both sides BEFORE the ground troops went in. I have NEVER condoned suicide bombings, or the firing of missiles into Israel. I repeat...The slaughter of innocent lives on BOTH sides is abhorrent. I am not "anti Israeli", nor have I EVER been, and for anyone to say that I am is profoundly offensive and completely wrong. Annie Lennox Click here to watch the video Annie is referring to, featuring John Ging, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza speaking with the BBC after an Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians who were seeking refuge in a school run by the UN just outside Gaza City.

CEBU, Philippines, 15 December 2008 In a poor shanty in the Central Philippines city of Cebu, a tiny internet café offers broadband connectivity with the outside world. In a place that lacks running water, the opportunities presented by the existence of the internet are boundless.

But along with these opportunities are the inherent risks posed by the net. A growing number of youths in the Philippines are being drawn into a dangerous world of sexual exploitation by foreigners they meet online.

Recognising the harm being inflicted on so many teenagers, UNICEF is supporting initiatives around the Philippines to deal with the problem. A number of internet cafés have agreed to remove their private booths after one of these initiatives put pressure on them to do so. UNICEF is also promoting a charter which lays down a code of conduct for internet cafes to follow to make them safer for children.

To read the full story

Susie Castillo to co-host 'Superstars of Dance' with Michael Flatley

 

By John Bracchitta

NBC has announced that Susie Castillo will join professional dancer Michael Flatley as the co-host of Superstars of Dance, a new international dance competition series the network will premiere on Sunday, January 4 at 9PM ET/PT. NBC Superstars of Dance.

Castillo, a former Miss USA, has previously served as a host for ABC Family's America's Prom Queen reality competition as well as MTV's TRL and Big Ten programs. She's also currently appearing in an acting role on TBS' House of Payne sitcom. 

Flatley -- the Lord of the Dance star who recently appeared as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars -- will serve as the host of Superstars of Dance, which will pit skilled dancers of various genres from different countries against each other. 

The eight countries currently scheduled to participate in the show are Ireland, India, USA, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and Australia. Each team -- which will be comprised of two soloists, one duo and one larger group -- will showcase dances that are "unique to their nation," such as the Shaolin Monks from China, Cossack dancers from Russia and Bhangra dancers from India. Following its two-hour Sunday night debut, Superstars of Dance will air two-hour episodes in its regular Mondays at 8PM ET/PT time period beginning January 5. Its finale is currently scheduled to air January 26 at 8PM ET/PT. 

 

NBC's Superstars of Dance

Superstars of Dance, which NBC had ordered under the title Superstar Dancers of the World earlier in November, is being produced by Big Red 2 Entertainment, a new production entity formed by American Idol creator Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, who are executive producing the series. 
Lythgoe -- who also co-created Fox's So You Think You Can Dance with Fuller and served as executive producer for American Idol for the show's first seven seasons -- confirmed in August that he would be stepping down as Idol's executive producer to devote his time to both So You Think You Can Dance and also "a new venture with Simon Fuller" -- which turned out to be Superstars of Dance.

New dancing reality TV show "Superstars of Dance", produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, two masterminds behind "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance", promises to bring in something different. Unlike two other dancing competitions, "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing with the Stars"which determine their winners through viewers' vote, this NBC's TV show will rely its evaluation on the selected world-class judges. "These are professional dancers; it would be very difficult for someone at home in their living room to pass judgment on the prima ballerina from Russia," host Michael Flatley explains why audiences are not involved. "It's very difficult to see how she might have done her pirouette or how she may have stood en pointe properly. It takes a specialist."

Eight countries; Ireland, India, America, Argentina, China, Russia,South Africa and Australia, are currently scheduled to participate at the show. Each team, consisting of two soloists, one duo and one larger group, is expected to perform their dance styles based on their culture, such as tango from Argentina and classical ballet from Russia.One nation will be crowned as the world's best. 

"The most exciting thing about 'Superstars of Dance' is how grand these performances are," co-host Susie Castillo says when spilling the beans on who will come to the competition. "All the dancers are professionals and most have taken time off from touring the world to compete on the show. The Shaolin Monks from China, for example, are on their 'Wheel of Life' tour, and our Irish team is on tour with 'Lord of the Dance.'It's pretty spectacular." 

America, meanwhile, will be represented by duo ballet dancer experts Georgia Ambarian and Eric Luna, who have held three world and three U.S. cabaret championship titles. Commenting on their participation at the show, Georgia says,"We're just going to go and perform the best way we can. You can't think of it as a competition. You have to think of it as your personal best."

"Superstars of Dance" will be hosted by Michael Flatley from "The Lord of the Dance" and co-hosted by Susie Castillo from "House of Payne".The TV series will be premiered on NBC January 4, 2009 at 09 - 11 P.M.ET. The following day on January 5 through 19, 2009, it will be aired beginning at 08 - 10 P.M. ET.