TresSugar

Ben Affleck Says Successes in Africa Inspire Him to Do More

LibertySugar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I checked out a panel on combating global poverty this week, filled with a diverse set of people ready to talk about their experiences surrounding the issue. I was super excited to see panel members like ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and the bearded and articulate Ben Affleck.

A humble Ben noted that he felt a bit out of place, but then shared what he's learned from his time in Africa. Ben thinks poverty activists need to re-package their message so it's not so doom and gloom. He argued that it's "more effective to talk about what people are doing successfully. [The successes] gave me added urgency to get involved."

Ben also highlighted how he and other Western folk are received in Africa. He said:

The countries that hold us in the highest esteem are in Africa. We don't carry colonial baggage. . . . [But] Western folks come in with a sense that "this is how it works." Imposing paradigm is much less effective than imposing solutions into social grooves. You hear people say, "If you teach a man to fish . . ." These people know how to fish, they need a pond to fish in.

Does Ben's insight impress you as much as it impressed me?

Part II: Interview With Tom Sheridan, Lobbyist to the Stars

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:49 -0700

Here's the continuation of our interview with Tom Sheridan, the lobbyist who works with Bono on his ONE campaign to end global poverty. Liberty took in a ONE campaign panel with Ben Affleck, Madeleine Albright, and Tom Daschle at the convention yesterday - more details on that event soon! Here's the continuation of our conversation with Tom:

Who else do you work with?

Julia Ormond is another great example, she's a client of ours who is doing work on human trafficking and slavery, and speaking out before anyone was really talking about. She wasn't only talking about it, but she was immersed, was deeply immersed in the substance of it. You know, what are the major policy issues that need to be launched in order to track people, things like a universal birth certificate. She was on top of that stuff before anyone really wrote about this.

What makes a celebrity seek you out?

To see his answer and more, read more.

What we look for and what we really love working with are celebrities who are about those two Cs. We're not your usual K Street lobbying firm. We represent almost only not-for-profits and are about taking those tough issues into the Washington environment. We're a little off the beaten path, so for people like Bono and Julia Ormond to find us, they really have to be committed in a much deeper sense. Bono doesn't need anyone to open a door for him, he's perfectly capable of opening his own doors - and he'll tell you that - that is not the hard part of my job with him. The hard part is how will we ask for what we want when we go in, how will we defend what we asked for last time, and why are we defending a taxpayer investment in a place called Africa and for a disease called AIDS. He's got to have real answers for those questions and thoughtful policymakers ask those questions. So my job is to make sure he is always well-positioned in the playing field and very well informed.

How does he become the perfect advocate for ONE?

To his credit, he gets on an airplane and he goes to Africa and gets on the ground so that he can say to people, "Look I just came from there and there's a village in Uganda where they've cut their maternal transmission of HIV rate from 70 percent to 10. He can speak to it with the level of passion that you can only have if you seen it and felt it. A good actor I guess can put on any emotion, but there's another whole dimension when it doesn't come from a place of craft.

We'll be unpacking more tidbits from Tom soon. Stay tuned!

Meet a Celebrity Lobbyist Committed to Star-Powered Activism

CitizenSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:45:08 -0700

Parked in the intersection of politics and pop culture is the celebrity activist. There all kinds of ways celebrities get involved in causes from serving on boards to inspiring laws on Capitol Hill, and Tom Sheridan knows how to harness that fame and make the issue the real star. A lobbyist based in DC, he represents Bono and his work on the ONE campaign against global poverty. We sat down with him this week ahead of the big ONE event Kanye is headlining to benefit the organization here at the convention, and we couldn't have been more impressed. Tom Sheridan is using the intersection of fame and charity to inspire real change and a legion of committed issue advocates.

Can celebrities distract from an issue or a message? What are the hallmarks of a happy marriage between celebrity and activism?

It really comes down to two Cs. One is commitment and the other is credibility. I think if we go with alliteration and add in celebrity, I think that is where people will discern the difference between a celebrity using an issue to distract and/or promote themselves. There may be a fair trade in that but it doesn't always sustain a cause, and it doesn't get to the level of a policy change that we look for celebrities to engage in.

Well, we see celebrities speaking out on issues all the time. Is that enough to motivate change?

To see his answer, read more.

We're not interested in a 15-minute hearing on Capitol Hill with some press, that's not that difficult to achieve frankly, and you don't actually need any talent from people like me to achieve that. The question then becomes, "what for?" And that's where commitment and credibility become really important factors. Are they willing to sustain their interest in this, and what does that sustaining interest mean, and how much time does that take?

How much time does it take, and how does that help a cause?

Celebrities work, and like Bono, he's got a rather significant day job. Bono was at the convention four years ago [for ONE] and he's not here this year because he's recording an album, you know that's the day job, but the fact remains four years later he's still involved. It's very much taking the cult of ONE and not doing the predictable stuff with it that gives him both long-term commitment because he has great motivation to stay in this for a long time, and has been in it for a long time. I've been working with him for almost eight years. He's been at this for a long time and there's no one out there that doesn't believe that he's not only committed to it but that he's incredibly credible on the topic.

To see who else Tom Sheridan works with and how committed celebs inspire real change, check out part two of our interview with him later this week!

Source

Ad-Rageous: Matt Damon Channels Michelle & Cindy for ONE

CitizenSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:02:14 -0700

This new ad from ONE just hit this morning, and it stars Matt Damon's face uttering a slew of famous voices. Damon opens the spot saying, "thanks to everyday Americans who chose to make a difference, millions of lives have been saved in the world's poorest countries." Then words from Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain and more are heard. The organization ONE is spending $1.8 million on the campaign aimed at encouraging the next president to address world poverty.

The ONE campaign is a nonpartisan group dedicated to help erase global AIDS and poverty. According to their mission, there's only one side to be on in the fight, and 2.4 million people from all 50 states have joined in. They're:

Working on the ground in communities, colleges and churches across the United States, ONE members both educate and ask America's leaders to increase efforts to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty, from the US budget and presidential elections to specific legislation on debt cancellation, increasing effective international assistance, making trade fair, and fighting corruption. Everyone can join the fight. The goal of ending poverty may seem lofty, but it is within our reach if we take action together as one.

To see how Liberty and I will get the inside scoop on the ONE campaign, read more.

Celebrities have an increasingly visible position in charitable organizations like ONE. Liberty and I will get to sit down with Tom Sheridan, lobbyist for U2's Bono who founded the ONE organization, at the Democratic National Convention next week. Stay tuned for insight on the role of celebs in making the world a better place for everyONE to live.

What do you think? Do stars draw your attention to causes or distract you from the message? Is this Matt Damon ad effective?

One Night Stand Kit - Hilarious or Horrifying?

TresSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

When I first saw the pink beaded strands in this One Night Stand Kit ($19), I thought they were hair rubber bands, which actually could come in handy during an unexpected hookup. But no, they are "love beads," packaged alongside a tiny vibrator, a vibrator ring, Please Gel samples, and two condoms - everything you'd need for a one-night stand. (This is basically the Walk of Shame Kit but without the cancer awareness bracelet!) Assuming you don't live in Alabama, would you buy something like this? Do you think it's funny, useful, or offensive?

Real or Fake? Headlines of the Week

TresSugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:00:07 -0800

News can get pretty weird. Our Stranger Than Fiction feature covers a lot of it, but there's much more useless information to know. I've gathered some of this week's most bizarre headlines and mixed in some made-up ones. See if you can spot the real from the fake.

Take the quiz

Play Battle of the Books - For a Chance to Win $1,000!

TresSugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:22 -0800

In TrèsSugar's Battle of the Books faceoff, we've pitted some of the most influential books against each other. Pick which one you'd rather read, and we'll find out what's top shelf.

Finding titles to add to your holiday reading list not incentive enough? We'll be giving away a $1,000 grand prize each month - you must be logged in, and you'll be entered once every time you play. (Check out the official rules here.) What are you waiting for? Get choosy.

10 Smart and Sexy Books

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:59 -0800

Forget the Literary Review's Bad Sex Scene award - we want the good ones, but not the smut . . . necessarily. Luckily, Nerve tracks the books with the best sex scenes all year with its Henry Miller awards. Named after the novelist, it rewards the best literary sex scenes in the English language. We've selected our 10 favorites.

Source: Flickr User jamelah

View Slideshow ›

Doctors Tell Women to Ditch Annual Pap Test

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:42 -0800

There may be no need to feel guilty about putting off your annual trip to the gynecologist anymore! New guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists assert that healthy women should not get cervical cancer screening pap tests every year. Instead they encourage women to get the screening every two to three years. The medical group also recommends against getting a pap test until after the age of 21, even if an adolescent is sexually active.

The new recommendations against annual cervical cancer screenings are not intended to save you embarrassment or discomfort - they're meant to prevent unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments. For example, treatment of precancerous HPV symptoms that would otherwise go away on their own puts women at a higher risk of giving birth to a premature or underweight baby. Still, cervical cancer rates have dropped 50 percent since the 1970s mostly thanks to the pap test, so I hope the doctors aren't trying to fix something that isn't broken. But the authors of the guidelines explain that the same results can be accomplished with less-regular screenings.

I'll admit the idea that less screening can be better for your sexual health seems counterintuitive. Will you stick to your annual pap test or do you welcome a chance to get one less frequently?

Robert Pattinson Believes in "the One" - Do You?

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:00:51 -0800

Twilight's Bella may find "the one," but Kristen Stewart doesn't believe he exists. When Pop's Molly asked Kristen if she believes in "the one," the actress defended her doubt saying that she doesn't believe there are "chosen ones" who find their soul mates and other unlucky people who don't. What does she believe? That different levels of love can be achieved.

Yet, when Molly popped the same question to Robert Pattinson, he had a very different answer. "Ahh, maybe," he said. "Yeah, yeah - I think so." Not too convincing, but more starry-eyed than realist Kristen. Could get awkward if they really are together, as they seemed to be in Paris last week!

Do you believe there's one for everyone? What if your partner disagrees?