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پیام هیلاری رادهام کلینتون، وزیر امور خارجه ایالات متحده به مناسبت روز بین المللی زنان

هیلاری رادهام کلینتون، وزیر امور خارجه: هشتم مارس روز بین المللی زنان است- روزی که پیشرفت جهان را در زمینۀ ارتقاء حقوق زنان و بازشناختن بقیۀ کارهایی که در این زمینه باید انجام گیرد، بازتاب می دهد.

امسال یاد آورسالگردی است که برای من بسیار گرامی است.  پانزده سال پیش من به اتفاق زنان و مردانی از سراسر گیتی در چهارمین کنفرانس جهانی زنان در پکن شرکت جستم. پیام برخاسته از کنفرانس طنینی بلند و روشن داشت و هنوز هم در امتداد فرهنگها و قاره ها طنین انداز است: حقوق بشر همان حقوق زنان و حقوق زنان همان حقوق بشر است.

نمایندگان صد و هشتاد و نه کشور در پکن یک بیانیۀ اصولی را به تصویب رساندند که افزایش دسترسی زنان را به آموزش، مراقبت بهداشتی و اعتبارمالی، و نیز پاسداری از حقوق آنها را برای این که رها از خشونت زندگی کنند، وعده می داد.

ما به پیشرفتهای بزرگی دست یافته ایم ولی هنوز راه درازی در پیش است. زنان هنوز اکثریت فقیران، ناتندرستان و گرسنگان جهان را تشکیل می دهند. آنها به ندرت عامل جنگ و ستیزهای خشونت بار بوده اند ولی غالبا پی آمدهای جنگ و ستیز ها را تحمل کرده اند. زنان در گفتگوهای مربوط به صلح و امنیت برای پایان دادن به این جنگ و ستیز ها حضور ندارند. به طور ساده، صدای آنها شنیده نمی شود.

امروز ایالات متحده زنان را به تکیه گاه اصلی سیاست خارجی خود تبدیل کرده است، زیرا ما بر این باوریم که این کار درستی است، ولی ما همچنین معتقدیم که کار هوشمندانه ای نیز هست.

سرمایه گذاری در توان بالقوۀ زنان و دختران یکی از مطمئن ترین راه ها برای دستیابی به پیشرفت اقتصادی، ثبات سیاسی و تأمین رفاه بیشتری برای زنان- و نیز مردان- در سرتاسر جهان است.

بنابر این، در این روز بین المللی زنان، بگذارید باردیگر خود را به پیشرفت زنان و دختران و حمایت از آنان وقف کنیم و برای تضمین این که هیچ زنی در قرن بیست و یکم پشت سر گذاشته نمی شود، به یکدیگر بپیوندیم.

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Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique, Precious

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker, Mark Boal

Adapted Screenplay: Precious, Geoffrey Fletcher

Animated Film: Up

Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina)

Original Score: Michael Giacchino, Up

Original Song: “The Weary Kind,” Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart)

Art Direction: Avatar

Cinematography: Avatar, Mauro Fiore

Costume Design: The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell

Makeup: Star Trek

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Documentary Feature: The Cove

Documentary Short Subject: Music by Prudence

Animated Short Film: Logorama

Live Action Short Film: The New Tenants

Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects: Avatar

Governors Award: Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman and Gordon Willis

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b170123_winners_complete_list_from_2010_oscars.html#ixzz0hZ9KFBIv

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Talk about the Best. Timing. Ever.

On the biggest red carpet of her life, Sandra Bullock finally pulls her style together to accept the Best Actress Oscar. (What a relief—after a not-so-stellar season at the kudosfests, we weren’t sure if she’d get it right.)

But here she is, glowing and gorgeous in a beaded Marchesa column gown with an embroidered bodice and a pop of bright color on her lips. We’re so glad she finally settled on this nonfussy style. It really suits her best.

And Sandy isn’t the only one who rocked it. Zoe Saldana’s colorful confection was the most daring of the night. And Miley Cyrus killed it with her soft and youthful look.

See all the fabulously dressed stars; plus, all the looks that fell flat (ahem, J.Lo and Charlize Theron), in our special Oscars 2010: Fashion Police gallery!

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b170598_fashion_police_sandra_bullock_oscar_gold.html#ixzz0hZ8SHGgF

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Ten Best Picture nominees! Two hosts! One kudosfest.

It’s Oscar night, and we’ve got the bests, the worsts and the most talked about moment of the night right here:

Most Awkward! We hope they never again get the idea to trot the nominees out onstage so the audience can stare at them like they are very expensive mannequins. They have feelings, people. Pretend feelings, but still.

Best Host: Steve Martin. No, wait, Alec Baldwin…Hey, Neil Patrick Harris is doing this one, too? Um, can we choose Jeff Probst?

Best Opening Jokes: There were so many—some of them were even good! (Not to mention all those lingering looks at George Clooney…)

“Meryl Streep holds the most nominations as an actress. Or, as I like to think of it, most losses,” said Steve Martin.

“I know you loved Invictus,” said Baldwin to Martin. “Because it combines two of your favorite passions: rugby and tensions between blacks and whites.”

“Anyone who has ever worked with Meryl Streep,” said Martin, returning to a favorite target, “always ends up saying the exact same thing: ‘Can that woman act?’ And, ‘What’s up with all the Hitler memorabilia?’ ”

Best Aside: Matt Damon, watching the clip of his own nominated performance and mumbling to his wife, “So bad.” (Well, that’s what it looked like anyway.)

Most Rehearsed: Christoph Waltz, who gave his umpteenth speech thanking Quentin Tarantino for putting him in Inglourious Basterds.

Most Competitive Category: Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart vs. Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick: Who presented the best?

Least Upset: Mo’Nique surprised no one by winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Precious. But when you think about it, that’s pretty amazing, right?

Worst Way to Begin an Acceptance Speech: The Young Victoria’s Sandy Powell began with, “Wow. Well, I already have two of these.”

Best Tribute: Reuniting the Brat Pack to celebrate the works of the late John Hughes was a fine idea, but giving the filmmaker’s family good seats to see it was even better.

Best Introduction: Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. gave funny, character-driven performances just introducing one of the writing awards. Said RDJ: “Actors want scripts with social relevance, warm-weather locations, phone-call scenes that can be shot separately from that insane actress that I hate and long, dense columns of uninterrupted monologue.”

How Do You Say Noble in Na’vi? After doing his damnedest to crack up James Cameron with his Avatar-cum-Vulcan impersonation, blue-faced presenter Ben Stiller then promised, “After I announce the winner, I will try to stand as far away from them as possible so as not to demean their moment of triumph.” That was totally nawm, Ben.

Worst In Memoriam Snub: Not sure why the Academy decided to leave out Farrah Fawcett, Bea Arthur and Ed McMahon, recently departed actors who appeared in film as well as on television. That stunk. TV is good enough to air your awards show, right? Should have included them.

Biggest Question: Do live dance sequences belong on Oscar telecasts?

Best Reactions: Some of the stars look like they’re far, far away when the camera finds them in the audience, so it’s wonderful when celebs look like they are having a ball. Take a bow, Penélope Cruz and Maggie Gyllenhaal; you make the Oscars look like a blast.

Most Contentious: Was the decision to put Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper together the sexiest pairing—or so not?

Best Advice: “Do it.”
—Winner Michael Giacchino, thanking his parents, teachers and colleagues for supporting him, and telling kids out there if they want to become artists they can

Most Family-Friendly: Whether it was a winner thanking his parents or a married couple accepting trophies together, Hollywood almost seemed to be one big happy family tonight. (Don’t worry, tomorrow is another day.)

Least Effective Kudos: Though Colin Farrell and Tim Robbins managed to find some humor in the exercise, the actor-delivered testimonials to the nominated performers almost veered into parody with the over-the-top praise. Seriously, enough.

Most Effective Kudos: Oprah Winfrey celebrated Gabourey Sidibe, and nobody does that better than Oprah.

Biggest Wha? Sean Penn offered a brief mea culpa during his presentation, which was nice. We have no idea what he was talking about.

Best Man: During his acceptance speech for Best Actor, Jeff Bridges must have ended every other sentence with the word man. Truly, the Dude abides.

Happiest Ending, Part 1: Sandra Bullock gave a warmhearted speech that thanked many and accepted little credit for herself. It was about as gracious a speech as they get.

Happiest Ending, Part 2: Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Best Director trophy. Loved that, because it’s an excellent film.

Worst Music Cue: As noted by an expert, the Academy chose the 1970s Helen Reddy hit “I Am Woman” to play Bigelow off. Really?

Best Question: Which nominated film will we still be talking about in five years: Avatar or The Hurt Locker? Or something else?

Most Important Opinion: What did you make of this year’s telecast? Awesome or awful? Or do you count anything a success simply because it featured Taylor Lautner?

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b170228_best_worst_of_oscars_whats_up_with_all.html#ixzz0hZ6WN0Bd

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James Cameron made box-office history this year, but ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow made Oscar history.

Her tense Iraq war drama, The Hurt Locker, was named Best Motion Picture of the Year, and Bigelow became the first female Best Director winner ever Sunday at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

What was supposed to be a tight pas de deux between The Hurt Locker and the technically groundbreaking Avatar turned out to be no contest. Aside from picture and director honors, The Hurt Locker topped Avatar in the editing, sound mixing and sound editing categories en route to collecting a field-leading six Oscars, out of nine chances.

Complete list of Oscar winners

Avatar, relegated to technical wins in the end, bagged Oscars for art direction, visual effects and cinematography.

Though the acting wins were foregone conclusions, they still supplied some lovely moments.

From America’s sweetheart to Academy darling, Sandra Bullock capped off the best year of her career with the win for Best Actress for playing a well-off Southern woman who completely turns around the life of an underprivileged black teen in the based-on-a-true-story The Blind Side.

“Did I really earn this, or did I just wear y’all down?” Bullock, fighting tears already, asked when she reached the stage. In nods to her fellow nominees, she said how much she loves Gabourey Sidibe, how Carey Mulligan’s elegance, beauty and talent “make me sick,” how words can’t describe how she feels about Helen Mirren and, last but not least, what a good kisser Meryl Streep is.

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b170609_oscar_recap_hurt_locker_blasts_avatar.html#ixzz0hZ4VjmBN

The 82nd Academy Awards: Who Will Win, Who Should Win, and Why

Yep, it’s that time of year again: time to see who’ll top the worst-dressed list, who’ll deliver the sappiest acceptance speech, and just how many trophies The Hurt Locker will take home. But, there’s a big difference between who’ll win and who should.

Here are my best bets for the top 10 categories. Check ‘em out and let me know your thoughts, but don’t blame me if you don’t sweep the office pool. And don’t forget to tune in to the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, airing on Sunday on ABC.

Best Picture

Nominees: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker

Who Should Win: Inglourious Basterds

Why: Only three films have a legitimate chance of winning Best Picture: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and Inglourious Basterds. But because Avatar’s mastermind, James Cameron, and Inglourious Basterds’ writer/director, Quentin Tarantino, and distributor Harvey Weinstein are all hated by hordes of Academy voters, the Kathryn Bigelow-directed war drama will take home the evening’s top prize.

Best Director

Nominees: James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)

Who Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow

Who Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow

Why: Bigelow’s meticulous and mesmerizing work, accompanied by her Directors Guild victory, will result in history being made as the Academy finally honors its first-ever female Best Director winner.

Best Actress

Nominees: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Who Will Win: Sandra Bullock

Who Should Win: Carey Mulligan

Why: Newbies Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe would both have had a great shot at taking home gold had they been nominated in different years; but they weren’t, and as a result, they’ll cancel each other out. Helen Mirren, on the other hand, never had a shot. She got her trophy a few years ago for her role in The Queen. Oh, and nobody saw The Last Station. So, we’re down to first-time nominee Sandra Bullock and sixteen-time nominee and two-time winner Meryl Streep. In the closest race of the evening, Sandra will edge out Meryl for two reasons: she’ll probably never receive another nom, and Meryl will be back in the mix again next year.

Best Actor

Nominees: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges

Who Should Win: Colin Firth

Why: Despite Firth’s heartbreaking performance and Clooney’s award-worthy work, Bridges will have to make room on his crowded mantle for his very first Oscar. Voters love him; he’s won every major award leading up to Sunday; and with four previous noms, everyone feels that it’s simply his turn to take home the trophy.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Mo’Nique (Precious)

Who Will Win: Mo’Nique

Who Should Win: Mo’Nique

Why: With Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick splitting the vote and Penelope Cruz out of contention, it comes down to first-time nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal and fellow newcomer Mo’Nique. While a few critics think Mo’Nique’s polarizing personality could hurt her chances coming down the home stretch, there’s really no doubt in my mind that she’ll emerge victorious and deliver a mag’nifique acceptance speech come Sunday.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Who Will Win: Christoph Waltz

Who Should Win: Christoph Waltz

Why: Let’s be honest: Christoph Waltz gave one of the best supporting performances in recent memory. And with minimal competition from his fellow nominees, the 53-year-old Austrian actor will easily waltz away with his first, much-deserved Oscar.

Best Original Screenplay

Nominess: The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal), Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino), The Messenger (Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman), A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen), Up (Bob Peterson and Pete Docter)

Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker

Who Should Win: Inglourious Basterds

Why: Basterds could give Locker a run for its money, but Mark Boal will triumph over Quentin Tarantino and the equally deserving Coen brothers. Best Pic nominee Up doesn’t have a shot; and The Messenger’s nomination was a victory in and of itself.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominess: District 9 (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell), An Education (Nick Hornby), In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche), Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher), Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)

Who Will Win: Up in the Air

Who Should Win: An Education

Why: In an effort to prevent Up in the Air from being shut out on Oscar night (which could very well happen), Academy voters will likely award Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for their timely script … unless they hand they statue to Nick Hornby, prohibiting An Education from also going home empty-handed.

Best Animated Feature

Nominess: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, Up

Who Will Win: Up

Who Should Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Why: Not only is Up a fan favorite, a critical darling, and a box-office behemoth, it’s also only the second animated film in history to be up for Best Picture. As a result, it’s guaranteed to topple the four other films, giving Pixar its third consecutive win in the category, following in the footsteps of WALL-E and Ratatouille.

Best Documentary Feature

Nominess: Burma VJ; The Cove; Food, Inc.; The Most Dangerous Man in America; Which Way Home

Who Will Win: The Cove

Who Should Win: Food, Inc.

Why: Despite the fact that Food, Inc. was the most fascinating film of 2009, bet on The Cove to bag the Oscar. The tragic dolphin-hunting doc has swept the pre-Oscar soirees, and its producers have been campaigning harder than just about everyone in Hollywood, except for Harvey Weinstein and that guy who tried to trash Avatar’s Best Pic chances.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad: Sept. 11 attacks a ‘big lie’

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks a “big lie” used by the U.S. as an excuse for the war on terror, state media reported.

Ahmadinejad’s comments, made during an address to Intelligence Ministry staff, come amid escalating tensions between the West and Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. They show that Iran has no intention of toning itself down even with tighter sanctions looming because of its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

“September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state TV. He called the attacks a “complicated intelligence scenario and act.”

The Iranian president has questioned the official U.S. version of the Sept. 11 attacks before, but this is the first time he ventured to label it a “big lie.”

In 2007, New York officials rejected Ahmadinejad’s request to visit theWorld Trade Center site while he was in the city for a U.N. meeting. The president also sparked an uproar when he said during a lecture inNew York that the causes and conditions that led to the attacks, as well as who orchestrated them, still need to be examined.

At the time, he also told Iranian state TV the attacks were “a result of mismanaging and inhumane managing of the world by the U.S,” and that Washington was using Sept. 11 as an excuse to attack others.

He has also questioned the Sept. 11 death toll of around 3,000, claiming the Americans never published the victims’ names.

On the 2007 anniversary of the attacks, the names of 2,750 victims killed in New York were read aloud at a memorial ceremony.

Coast Guard crew survives Utah crash

Helicopter flying from Vancouver Olympics to N.C. goes down in mountains

SALT LAKE CITY – Three people were badly hurt when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed in remote Utah mountains amid blizzard-like conditions, but all five on board survived.

Authorities say snow and wind had affected visibility during the flight Wednesday, but they still don’t know if that’s what caused the crash.

The helicopter was one of two returning home from the Vancouver Olympics at the time.

Two people were in critical condition and one was in serious condition, according to hospital officials. All three had to be airlifted from the remote crash site.

Another two with minor injuries were brought out on snowmobiles.

The MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter was one of two traveling through the area en route to home base in Elizabeth City, N.C., after performing security duty at the Vancouver Games, said Dan Dewell, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s 11th District in Alameda, Calif.

The helicopters made a refueling stop in Salt Lake City — one of several required for the long trip — and were headed to Leadville, Colo., before spending the night in Kansas City.

The helicopter went down in a wooded area about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Bad weather
Coast Guard officials didn’t immediately know why the helicopter went down. Blizzard-like conditions were reported at the time of the crash, said Chief Mike Hvozda, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s 5th district, which includes Air Station Elizabeth City.

“I’m not sure if that’s what they ran into or not but that’s what was reported to us,” Hvozda said.

The Coast Guard is sending a team to Utah to investigate.

Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner told KSL-TV that visibility was “very minimal” because of snow and wind at the time of the crash.

“They (were) flying a low height, and they just kind of banked in the wrong area — didn’t really see what was there apparently — and into the pine trees,” Bonner said.

Phone call after crash
After the crash, the co-pilot used a cell phone to call the Coast Guard colleagues, Dewell said. Detective Ron Bridge of the Summit County sheriff’s department also said at least one crew member from the downed helicopter communicated via text message, but communications were difficult because of the terrain.

The helicopter ended up on its side in a heavily wooded area accessible only by snowmobile, said Sgt. Jeremy Hales of the Wasatch County sheriff’s office.

The second helicopter spotted the wreckage but had to refuel before it returned to pick up two of the injured, according to Lt. Col. Susan Romano, of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Panama City, Fla. A third crew member was flown out by helicopter.

All were taken to University Hospital at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

The Coast Guard said Cdr. Patrick Shaw, 37, Juneau, Alaska, suffered internal injuries; Lt. Cmdr. Steven Cerveny, 40, Lincoln, Neb., had a broken leg; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Gina Panuzzi, 31, Lacey Thurston, Wash., also had internal injuries.

Panuzzi underwent surgery and remained in critical condition, along with Shaw, according to Ryann Rasmussen, a hospital spokeswoman. Cerveny was listed in serious condition.

The two others aboard the helicopter were Petty Officer 3rd Class Darren Hicks, 22, Oroville, Wash.; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Edward Sychra, 26, Blanchard, Ind., according to the Coast Guard.

The crash hits hard with the close-knit Coast Guard community, Hvozda said.

“Whenever we hear something like this, you heart immediately goes out to the folks involved and their families,” he said.

Fleeing Haiti, family gets hit by Chile quake

‘My God, I left my country and I didn’t die, but I’m going to die here!’

SAN BERNARDO, Chile – The Desarmes family left their native Haiti two weeks after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, joining the eldest son in Chile for what seemed a refuge from the fear and chaos of Port-au-Prince.

Their sense of security lasted barely a month. It was shattered at 3:43 a.m. Saturday when one of the most powerful quakes on record shook a swath of Chile.

All the Desarmes’ immediate family survived both quakes. But twice cursed, the family now sleeps in the garden of a home that the eldest son, Pierre Desarmes, found for them just south of the Chilean capital of Santiago. They fear yet another temblor will strike.

“I left my country and came here because of an earthquake,” Seraphin Philomene, a 21-year-old student and cousin of Desarmes, said Wednesday. “And here, the same thing!”

“My God, I left my country and I didn’t die, but I’m going to die here!”

Pierre Desarmes, 34, managed to get his family out of Haiti thanks to personal contacts at the Chilean Embassy in Port-au-Prince and the Chilean armed forces. Nine members of his family — his parents, two brothers and their families, and three cousins — arrived in Santiago on a Chilean air force plane Jan. 23.

Desarmes, the lead singer of a popular Haitian reggaeton band in Chile, still gets choked up when he recalls seeing his family for the first time stepping off the plane.

“I saw them but I didn’t believe it. I said, ‘My God, they’re here.’ It was a very difficult moment,” he said, speaking in French in the garden of the house the family now calls home.

“Each time I think about it, I get sad, because I realize I was able to do this because I was here. But there are so many people who are there and I don’t know what’s going to happen to them.”

Deeply unsettled
His relatives had to leave Haiti with only hours’ notice, receiving instructions on where to go via cell phone text messages from a relative in the United States who was in contact with Desarmes in Santiago. Philomene didn’t even have time to pack, dashing to the Chilean Embassy when she received word the family had been cleared to fly out.

Saturday’s earthquake has made a difficult transition even more traumatic.

“When the aftershocks come, they refuse to stay in the house,” Desarmes said, sipping a Coke at a table in the garden, his relatives sitting nearby.

“I have to talk to them all day long telling them: ‘There are no problems, it’s a country that’s prepared for earthquakes, it’ll pass, it’s not so bad.’ But they don’t hear me. Psychologically for them, they’re still really affected by it.”

Desarmes’ brother, Stanley Desarmes, 32, is deeply unsettled. The father of a 2-year-old girl, Nelia, who plays in the yard, he worries for his family’s safety and is thinking about uprooting them again to move somewhere with less danger of earthquakes.

“I don’t know what I can do, but staying isn’t possible,” he said. “I could die and I could lose my family. I have to leave. I don’t know where, I don’t know how. But I don’t want to die with my family here.”

Philomene, his cousin, plans to stay, hoping to bring the rest of her family to Chile. She was the only member of her immediate family to get out because she was living with the Desarmes in the Haitian capital to finish her studies. Her mother, father, two sisters and a brother are still in Cap-Haitien, a town in northern Haiti about 90 miles from the capital.

“I’ve had no news from them,” she said, choking up.

‘God is looking out for us’
Reached late Wednesday by The Associated Press in Cap-Haitien, Philomene’s father, Luigene Philomene, was elated at the news that his daughter was safe. He said he hadn’t heard from her since before Chile’s earthquake and had been trying to reach relatives in Port-au-Prince for an update.

The elder Philomene said when he heard that his daughter had been in the Chile earthquake he thought of a Haitian saying that loosely translates as “we saved her from the river and she ended up in the sea.” Now he feels she has divine protection and the 43-year-old said he would eagerly join his daughter in South America if he could.

“God is looking for out for us,” he said. “Our family didn’t die in Haiti so they aren’t going to die in Chile either.”

Francius Pierre, a cousin of Seraphin’s in Port-au-Prince, had already learned from a brother that his relatives in Chile survived. Pierre, a university student who injured his knee in the Haitian quake, said Seraphin and his other relatives moved from Haiti for safety.

“If they knew something like this could happen again they never would have gone,” he said.

Obama’s new health care reform plan to include GOP ideas

By Dan Lothian and Ed Henry, CNN White House Correspondents

Washington (CNN) — In a last-ditch attempt to craft a bipartisan health care reform bill, President Obama will release a new proposal Wednesday that will include Republican ideas on tort reform and health savings accounts, according to Democratic officials familiar with the plans.

But top Republicans, including House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, immediately said the new proposal is not good enough and reiterated calls for the president to scrap the plan and start over.

The situation is setting up a likely showdown that top Democrats say will end up with the president trying to pass the health legislation with only Democratic votes through the legislative shortcut of reconciliation.

In fact, senior congressional Democrats have privately expressed frustration that the president is spending time at this late date reaching out to Republicans, when it has become increasingly clear the two parties can not settle their differences on this contentious issue.

The senior Democrats said they think the White House should be devoting time trying to win over Democrats, because it’s still not clear they can secure a simply majority in the House and Senate for the president’s plan.

“Why even bother with the olive branches?” asked one senior congressional Democratic aide. “It’s very clear Republicans are not going to provide any votes.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday wouldn’t say whether she has the votes to pass a bill, saying Democrats still need to fill in the details of legislation and get a final price tag on it. But the speaker remained positive about the bill’s prospects in the House.

“Our members want quality affordable health care for all Americans, and I feel very confident that we will accomplish that,” Pelosi said.

The No. 2 House Democrat told reporters he thinks some of the Democrats who opposed the House bill last fall could support the new plan the president is pushing.

“Do I think there’s a possibility of some people changing? Yes, I do,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. “I think that’s because it will be a different bill than either the House and Senate. It will hopefully take the strengths of both and I think if that happens, as is normally the case, when bills change, members look at it somewhat differently.”

Getting more House Democrats to vote yes is crucial, because the House voted narrowly to pass its version last fall. Two Democrats who voted for that bill have since left Congress — Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Florida. Another Democratic supporter, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, died in February.

The one House Republican who voted for the bill, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, has since said publicly he is unlikely to support the revised Democratic bill.

Hoyer acknowledged it could be an uphill climb for House Democratic leaders to get the votes. That’s because the parliamentary procedure of reconciliation could require that the House first pass the original Senate version, a version many House Democrats oppose, before the Senate would vote on the president’s proposed changes.

Many House Democrats are wary about going first and have a deep distrust of their Senate counterparts after seeing the Senate fail to take up several bills approved by the House.

“I think members want some assurances that those items that they have problems with are, in fact, modified before they vote for the Senate bill. I don’t know that it’s impossible, but it’s difficult,” Hoyer said.

He strongly rejected, as Obama and other Democratic leaders have, Republican demands that Democrats scrap their health care proposals and start over. “Starting over is a euphemism for not doing, frankly,” he said.

Two Democratic officials, a White House official and a senior Democratic congressional aide, said the president is not expected to use the word “reconciliation” during his remarks on Wednesday, instead just calling for an up-or-down vote on the legislation, which is essentially code for the legislative shortcut.

The White House official said the president will “urge Congress to move swiftly toward votes on this legislation.”

The official described the remarks as “moving forward into the final stage of the health insurance reform debate,” so the president will again focus on what he thinks is at stake for American families and businesses, and on how “they’ll have more control over their own health care, they’ll see lower costs, and they’ll see an end to insurance company abuses.”

In highlighting what the White House thinks has been an honest effort to get bipartisan support, the official said Obama will point out that his proposal incorporates the “best ideas from both parties.”

And in contrast to calls for a “baby steps” approach, the president will “restate his preference for a comprehensive bill that will reduce premiums and end discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions,” the official said.

The president will make his remarks at 1:45 p.m. ET in the East Room, and will be joined by health care professionals from across the country and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.