Angelina Jolie: Trump's refugee ban is 'playing with fire'
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- Published on Friday, 03 February 2017 11:41
- Written by USA Today
Angelina Jolie, a longtime advocate for refugees worldwide, has penned a pointed memo to President Donald Trump about his refugee ban."Acting out of fear is not our way. Targeting the weakest does not show strength," the mother of six wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times, proceeding to debunk Trump's border security rhetoric."It is simply not true that our borders are overrun or that refugees are admitted to the United States without close scrutiny," writes Jolie, who is the special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "And in fact only a minuscule fraction — less than 1 percent — of all refugees in the world are ever resettled in the United States or any other country. There are more than 65 million refugees and displaced people worldwide."Jolie's latest op-ed is a rare public statement from the actress since she began divorce proceedings from husband Brad Pitt last September, though last May she addressed Trump's "politics of fear" while abroad. Jolie's father, Jon Voight, was a vocal Trump supporter throughout his campaign.A definitive list of celebrity stances on Trump's controversial immigration order.In her essay, Jolie goes on to note that "refugees are in fact subject to the highest level of screening of any category of traveler to the United States. This includes months of interviews, and security checks carried out by the F.B.I., the National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department."
She continues: "The truth is that even if the numbers of refugees we take in are small, and we do the bare minimum, we do it to uphold the United Nations conventions and standards we fought so hard to build after World War II, for the sake of our own security."By sending a message that it is acceptable to close the door to refugees, or to discriminate on the basis of religion, she argues, "we are playing with fire," she says, risking "a free-for-all in which even more refugees are denied a home, guaranteeing more instability, hatred and violence."Jolie also strikes down the notion that refugees granted access to the U.S. are inherently dangerous, noting "only the most vulnerable people are put forward for resettlement in the first place: survivors of torture, and women and children at risk or who might not survive without urgent, specialized medical assistance. "The actress, who adopted three of her and Pitt's six children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, put her argument in the most personal of terms."As the mother of six children, who were all born in foreign lands and are proud American citizens, I very much want our country to be safe for them, and all our nation’s children. But I also want to know that refugee children who qualify for asylum will always have a chance to plead their case to a compassionate America.And that we can manage our security without writing off citizens of entire countries — even babies — as unsafe to visit our country by virtue of geography or religion.
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Angelina Jolie Sends Video Message to International Criminal Court
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- Published on Saturday, 19 November 2016 17:19
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie recorded a video message for the International Criminal Court to play while welcoming the new policy on children.A clip of the video is floating around on Twitter and it shows her congratulating the OTP (Office of the Prosecutor) on the new policy.“Successful prosecution, whether at the ICC or elsewhere is part of the long and vital generational effort. That is the light in which I believe the court’s new policy on children should be seen,” Angie says in the clip.“I particularly welcome the commitment to include charges for crimes against children wherever the evidence permits as part of a more systematic approach. I congratulate the office of the chief prosecutor, and all those working on the policy,” she adds.
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Angelina Jolie donated earrings to Memorial Hermann luncheon emceed by Chita Craft
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- Published on Friday, 07 October 2016 06:25
- Written by Chron
Seventh annual Razzle Dazzle luncheon raised record-breaking $400,000 thanks to celebrity auction items.azzle Dazzle luncheon chairs Hallie Vanderhider and Kristina Somerville were uncharacteristically secretive about the Memorial Hermann Foundation fundraiser's two live auction items.Vanderhider modeled earrings designed by her guest, celebrity jeweler Robert Procop, throughout the champagne reception and soiree. Reportedly, the pair met only a few months ago. During that brief period, Procop agreed to donate two pairs of earrings for Wednesday's soiree benefiting the Bobetta C. Lindig Breast Care Center. One of those sets comes directly from the personal vault of a very well-known breast cancer survivor: Angelina Jolie."Angelina, my client, has that unfortunate (BRCA1) gene," Procop said onstage of the Oscar winner and humanitarian's much-publicized preventive double mastectomy. He and Jolie have collaborated together on several jewelry collections and subsequently donated the proceeds to all-girl schools in conflict zones. "When we ask those little girls what they want to be when they grow up, they all say doctors."A tense round of bidding ensued over the 37.38-carat tourmalated quartz square bezel set in 18-carat rose gold earrings though Susan Sarofim emerged victorious for a cool $25,000. Vanderhider's dream of owning some Procop bling came true after she snagged the other pair of moonstone, diamond, and sapphire baubles for $12,000.
The luncheon, which raised $300,000 before some 560 attendees arrived at the Westin Memorial City, garnered a record-breaking $400,000 by afternoon's end.Expectant mother and mistress of ceremonies Chita Craft reminded the audience that the soiree has raised more than $1.6 million since its inception in 2010."We chose the theme '3D Pink' to highlight the technology," Somerville explained. Her mother, also in attendance, recently battled breast cancer.She has seven children, Somerville says, we named her tumor Voldemort.Honorees Mary Ann McKeithan and Mayor Pro-Tem Ellen R. Cohen, both breast cancer survivors, shared their experiences, too.McKeithan became tearful as she acknowledged her husband, David McKeithan, who took her to lunch after every radiation treatment."Trust me, we've eaten everywhere," she said during her remarks. "But it gave me something to look forward to."Guest speaker and "New York Times" best-selling author Elin Hildebrand raised the crowd's spirits by putting a humorous spin on her 2014 breast cancer diagnosis."Before, I was half of an A-cup," she quipped. "My doctor told me, 'They don't make implants as small as you are, so you're going to get bigger breasts."Hildebrand received implants after successful treatment on the four tumors in her right breast and one in the left. Shortly after, she contracted a MRSA infection and had to replace one."I'm probably the only person you know who lost three breasts last year," she joked in closing.
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Angelina Jolie rumoured to leave US to join House of Lords in London
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- Published on Friday, 23 September 2016 17:06
- Written by News
IS Angelina Jolie pushing so hard for sole custody against Brad Pitt so she can emigrate to the UK with their six children and become a member of the House of Lords? Yeah, we realise this theory sounds completely crazy — even among all the unfounded gossip and speculation swirling around the celebrity split. But is there at least something to the idea? Investigative reporter — or muckraker depending on who you speak to — Ian Halperin raised the idea yesterday on Sunrise and Today Extra. “Brad Pitt is not to blame in this relationship,” declared the author of Brangelina: The Untold Story. “It’s Angie Jolie, she’s a woman with an agenda. She wants to leave the United States. She wants to work in the UK, she wants to get into the House of Lords.” This isn’t the first time the rumour has appeared. Us Weekly has been saying for months Jolie has been eyeing a spot in the House of Lords and that her political ambitions were putting a strain on her marriage to Pitt.
Us Weekly sort-of predicted the break up in June, reporting there was “tension” between the couple over whether to see their Chateau Miraval property in the South of France. Jolie apparently wanted to get rid of it to move to the UK to further her political ambitions while Pitt wanted to keep it.Jolie and Pitt have lived in England on a number of occasions including earlier this year at a 15,000 pound a month rental in Surrey. Jolie of course has been doing humanitarian work for some time and is a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She has openly talked about a move into politics in the past.“When you work as a humanitarian, you are conscious that politics have to be considered. Because if you really want to make an extreme change, then you have a responsibility,” she told Vanity Fair in 2014.She’s also had a long association with former Conservative Party Leader Baron William Hague who is a Member of the House of Lords — they have chaired summits together, visited war zones and are even due to teach together at the London School of Economics.And she’s “struck up a close friendship” with another member of the House of Lords, Baroness Arminka Helic, Hague’s former adviser who Vanity Fair even claimed in May was Jolie’s political mentor”.And in 2014 Jolie was made an honorary Dame by the Queen and was awarded a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George — an unusual honour for non-Brits with Kofi Annan and Israeli President Shimon Peres being among other recipients.Of course the current turmoil with Pitt probably has nothing to do with any of this, and no one knows if the rumours about her wanting to join the House of Lords have any basis.If she does want to, she’ll have to become a British citizen. But as Lords are appointed rather than elected and she already moves in the right circles it’s not entirely inconceivable ...
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Angelina Jolie calls upon the international community to end the Syrian civil war and increase aid for refugees as she visits refugees in Jordan
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- Published on Saturday, 10 September 2016 18:31
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie has called upon the international community to end the Syrian civil war and increase aid for refugees. The actress visited a refugee camp in Azraq, Northern Jordan, in her role as special envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and met Syrian children displaced by the conflict.Five years into the Syrian conflict, she said brutal violence rages while the UN Security Council remains divided on a political solution. During the trip, following on from her surprise visit as a guest at the UN summit in London yesterday, the Hollywood A-lister mingled with laughing children and delivered a speech. In her role, she focuses on major crises resulting in mass population displacements and engaging with decision-makers on global displacement issues.Yesterday, she stunned delegates from 80 countries with a speech at the major peacekeeping summit, saying the organisation's reputation had been undermined by cases of sexual abuse. Angelina Jolie made a surprise appearance at a major UN peacekeeping summit, where she told delegates from 80 countries that the organisation's reputation had been undermined by intolerable cases of sexual abuse by peacekeepers.She movingly described her desire for justice and accountability of the women she had met in refugee camps who had been abused by international troops.Jolie said: 'We all know that the credibility of UN peacekeeping has been sadly undermined by the actions of a few intolerable cases of women and children being sexually exploited by the very people in charge of protecting them.'
She told a summit of ministers from around the world in London's Lancaster House that countries had to meet their commitments to peacekeeping missions and aid appeals.The summit communique called for the UN to double the number of women in military and police contingents involved in peacekeeping operations by 2020 and promised a 'zero tolerance' approach to sexual exploitation and abuse by troops.Jolie-Pitt told ministers and dignitaries at the meeting: 'The fact is that increasing the number of UN peacekeepers alone will not be enough to resolve the conflicts that we are experiencing.'It has to be accompanied by a new way of conducting peacekeeping, one that has the rights and protection and involvement of women at its heart.' She added: 'The signing of an agreement is actually the easy part.'What is harder and what is much more important is implementation.'We are living through a time of public disillusionment with commitments on paper that are not met in reality; with UN Security Council resolutions that are ignored, aid appeals that are only partially met and fail to address root causes and allegations of sexual misconduct that are not investigated or prosecuted.'In my view, from my experience in the field, prosecutions around the world would mean more to the survivors of violence than any number of new Security Council resolutions.'
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