Hillary Rodham Clinton will accept the post of Secretary of State in the incoming Obama Administration, reports the New York Times. The Junior Senator from New York will give up her seat in the United States Senate in order to take the position. A confidant of Mrs. Clinton told the New York TImes she had decided to head the State Department after ongoing discussions with President-elect Obama regarding her role within the administration and his foreign policy objectives over the next fours years.

I had my doubts about this appointment, but now that it seems all but set in stone - unless The Times has it all wrong and is forced to eat humble pie, which is always fun too - it’s time to wish Senator Clinton congratulations on her new job. She’s no doubt worked incredibly hard to get where she is today and put up with a lot of crap, so it’s nice to see all that effort pay off.

I shook hands with Hillary Clinton during a campaign stop on her husband’s 1992 Presidential campaign in York, Pennsylvania. I’ve met other politicians before and since, but none with the energy and enthusiasm of Hillary Clinton. The woman grabbed at my hand as though it had food in it and she was starving, and she did the same thing all the way up a line of hundreds of people. Let’s hope she brings that same kind of gusto to the State Department.

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Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past eight years, it’s hard to ignore the dismal human rights record of George W. Bush. Where can one begin when you reflect on the human rights abuses, violations of international agreements and government-sanctified torture policies of the Bush Administration? By intimately exploring the stories attached to the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib, our film, Standard Operating Procedure, helped to give us a clearer understanding of the prison which cemented our country’s anti-human rights record and image to the world. Human rights were systematically violated and our global leadership was marginalized because of our policies during the past eight years.

However, since the election, the tide has turned and things are finally looking brighter. President-elect Obama has already indicated a desire to reshape our human rights policies, including closing Guantanamo.

However, for many of the policies changes to occur, the new president and Congress needs to hear from citizens like you and me.  Human Rights First is has made the following a priority for the Obama Administration : the closure of Guantanamo, protection for Iraqi refugees, stop the flow of arms to Darfur and end torture of prisoners in US custody.  Help to make these important goals a reality by signing their letter which will be published in newspapers worldwide.  We voted against torture on November 4th. Let’s help to show the world that we can help to change our policies and have our country return to being the visionary beacon for human rights that we once were. takepart today to sign Human Rights First’s letter.

(photo by habacuc_1988)

When NBA stars make headlines off the court, it often involves scandal but this weekend Tracy McGrady received media attention for his amazing work to help raise awareness on the genocide in Darfur. Tracy visited Darfurian refugee camps (along with super-human rights activist, John Prendergast) in Chad last year. His physical and emotional journey is captured in the fabulous documentary, 3 Points.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Tracy and seeing the film this weekend at a private screening at CAA headquarters in LA. Some 200 attended the event last Saturday including actor Emmanuelle Chriqui, the legendary Reggie Miller, and fellow NBA stars Baron Davis and Carl Landry. As well as dozens of young people from high schools across LA.

Tracy is candid about his fears of traveling and camping in Africa and about his confusion of the very complicated situation. What he learns while he is there- and what we learn from the film- is that the children in these refugee camps have strength way beyond their years. And what they need most (in addition to the 3Ps: Peace, Protection and Punishment) is education. And this became Tracy’s call to action.

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If you weren’t already feeling good about President-Elect Barack Obama, the below video should change that.  If you were already feeling good about President-Elect Barack Obama than the video below should make you happier.

In the weeks before the election the economy became the main focus but it’s important to remember what else an Obama presidency could and should mean when it comes to torture, genocide, poverty and war:

takepart with Human Rights First and remember that we won the vote and now we have to make that change mean something!

And takepart with our social action for Standard Operating Procedure and learn how you can fight torture

I’ve loved Matt Damon ever since I got to interview him my sophomore year of college. It was my first actor interview (for my college paper) and I was a bit nervous. The interview ended up being a larger round table interview with a bunch of critics and writers, which somehow made me more nervous as I was not known by any of them. We all sad down and the publicist started going around introducing everyone to Matt Damon. Everything is went well until she got to me, she easily gets out my first name but started to falter when she tried to say my last name.

I think that she simply didn’t know it, but I thought I’d let her off the hook, so I said, “no worries, everyone gets it wrong, it’s Telaroli.” To which Matt Damon said - “Telaroli?”. And I said in return, “Yep, Telaroli.”

Matt Damon. (Credit WENN)

The woman then finished introducing everyone and one of the cheeky writers turned to Matt Damon when she was done and said “you know there’s going to be a quiz now.” To which Matt Damon simply said, “well all I’d be able to remember is Telaroli.”

How could you not love the guy after that?

And now, beyond all the good films he’s made in the past 7 years, I have another reason to love Matt Damon, his work with AIDS in Africa.

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Social Action and Cinema YouTube Videos of the Day:

1) Candidates United on Darfur

For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here >>>

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I know it’s a day late, but I thought it was still worth it to wish George Clooney, activist, actor, writer, messenger of peace and director extraordinaire a Happy Birthday!!In celebration of all things George, here are some classic Clooney moments. Give a watch here and below the fold and be sure to and visit

www.takepart.com/DarfurNow to learn about a charity Mr. Clooney often gives his time to.

Here’s a trailer from what might be my favorite Clooney performance in Out of Sight:

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Matt Damon, Thandie Newton and other celebrities all got together recently to break some toys and then have people take pictures of it.

They weren’t participating in some kind of new therapy but were in fact hoping to illustrate the destruction of children in Darfur. April 13th was “Global Day for Darfur.” It also marks the 5 year anniversary of the genocide. This means that for some children, all they have ever known is a life filled with war.

Damon, 37, destroyed a dollhouse with a baseball bat in his shots. “After the genocide in Rwanda we all shook our heads and said never again,” said the actor. “Today, as killings mount in Darfur we need to make never again a priority and demand protection for the most vulnerable.” [People]

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Check out these Top 10 stories from January 2008 about social action written by our very own TakePart bloggers. From Cadbury to Clooney, these advocacy-oriented stories will encourage awareness and action to create positive changes in our communities and in the world.

1) Clooney Claims Role as Peace Messenger

2) The Reinvestment Fund Helps Low-Income Baltimore Families During Sub-Prime Fallout

3) Ron Hunter Is A Superstar!

4) Great YouTube Video About Burma From Michael Stipe

5) Cadbury Strikes Sweet Deal With Cocoa Farmers

6) Uptown Girls Is Down on Power Lines

7) Greenpeace Persuades Chefs to Support Sustainable Seafood

8 ) BGCI Helps Save Medicinal Plants From Extinction

9) Top 5 Socially Conscious Movie Trailers

10) I Believe That Children See the Future Drawings of Climate Change

I have to say that as each day goes by recently I love George Clooney more and more. His performance in Michael Clayton was one of the best this year (as was the film itself) and now he has been named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in honor of his humanitarian work.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named actor George Clooney, who has campaigned for refugees in Darfur, as a U.N. “messenger of peace” on Friday to promote the world body’s peacekeeping efforts.

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