Jolie speaks, Streep drops F-bomb at Women in the World

Celebrities, activists and politicians headed to New York City Thursday for the 4th annual Women in the World Summit.

Hillary Clinton joined Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Diane von Furstenberg, Barbara Walters, Angelina Jolie and Tom Hanks as featured speakers at the annual conference highlighting global women's issues.

Meryl Streep helped kick off the star-studded summit Thursday night, as she switched in and out of an Irish accent during a tribute to her friend, activist Inez McCormack, who passed away earlier this year. Streep portrayed McCormack in a performance at the 2010 conference.

The audience went crazy when Streep dropped the F-bomb while retelling a story of McCormack's.

ABC's Barbara Walters received a warm welcome as she took the stage to lead a panel discussion about "why we need to care about the women in Syria."

Walters, who recently took six weeks away from The View as she recovered from chickenpox and a concussion, was escorted arm-in-arm slowly off of the stage at the conclusion of the panel.

Angelina Jolie closed out the first night of the summit by pledging $200,000 to a new initiative from 15-year-old Pakastani student activist Malala Youstafzai.

"In a brutal attempt to silence her voice, it grew louder," Jolie said of the young girl who was shot at point blank range by the Taliban on a school bus in Pakistan last October because of her outspoken support for girls' education.

Through a video, Malala announced the first grant for the Malala Fund, which supports the rights to education for girls in Pakistan. The grant will support the education of 40 girls aged 5-12.

"Let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 million girls," Malala said in the video.

"When in the hospital [Malala's] father saw a poll of the most influential people," Jolie said. "Malala was number six. President Obama was number seven."

The sold-out conference, hosted by Tina Brown, editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, is held at the Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater.

Friday's schedule includes speeches from Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Eva Longoria, Susan Rice, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and many more.

Last year's summit drew 2,500 women from around the globe.

News Source: www.usatoday.com

Angelina Jolie Launches Jewelry Line, with 100 Percent of Profits Going to “Children of Conflict”

Gorgeous global citizen Angelina Jolie is expanding her international extracurricular efforts—this time, from wine-making in France to jewelry design to benefit school-aged children in high-conflict regions. Her high-end jewelry line, “Style by Jolie,” was co-created by Robert Procop, the Beverly Hills jeweler who helped Brad Pitt design her engagement ring. Like Jolie's reportedly 15-carat, $500,000 accessory, many of the pieces in her collection are centered around statement gemstones cut in the shape of a tablet, “an exclusive feature.” (The historic shape, however, was not designed by Pitt but by Jolie for a necklace she gave Pitt before their engagement.)

Impressively, 100 percent of the line's profits will go toward her new foundation, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which has already opened an all-girls school in Afghanistan. The primary school, which educates between 200 and 300 students, is located in a region that traditionally puts boys' education above girls'. According to E!, Jolie, the UNHCR Goodwill ambassador, picked the once-devastated site, not far from Kabul, because of its high refugee population. In a statement to E! about the line, Jolie explained, “Beyond enjoying the artistic satisfaction of designing these jewels, we are inspired by knowing our work is also serving the mutual goal of providing for children in need.”

Although the price points are uncertain, Procop told Forbes about one particular ring in the line featuring a 27-carat emerald: “When the stone is sold we give the money to the charity and then we build another school.” According to photos on Forbes's Web site, other pieces include an “Exceptional Emerald Necklace” featuring 44 cushion-cut emeralds, weighing 103.48 carats; pear-shape emerald earrings; and a citrine tablet ring. The collection goes on sale this week exclusively in Tivol, a Kansas City jeweler.

News Source: www.vanityfair.com

ANGELINA JOLIE & LADY GAGA FINANCES EXPOSED By Celebrity Hackers

Angelina Jolie and Lady Gaga are the two newest victims of the celebrity hackers who had already exposed the financial secrets of Michelle Obama and Beyonce ... TMZ has learned.

The hackers returned to the Internet after a brief hiatus ... and immediately hit six more A-list victims, including Angelina, Gaga, NRA advocate Wayne LaPierre, Dennis Rodman, Michael Vick, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson and Robert De Niro.

The hackers have posted what they claim to be the social security numbers, mortgage amounts, credit card info, car loans, banking and other info for the celebs listed on their site.

The hackers' previous website was shut down by its host -- but it's now back up and running with a new domain extension (.re) that suggests it's based out of the French island of Réunion located off the coast of Madagascar.

Along with Beyonce and Michelle, the hackers previously hit names like Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher, Hillary Clinton, Kim Kardashian, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kanye West, Mitt Romney, and Tiger Woods.

As we reported, the FBI has been investigating the hackers from the beginning ... no arrests have been made.

News Source: www.tmz.com

Sideshow: Jolie's school for girls

 Angelina Jolie is bringing grrrl power to Afghanistan. Brad Pitt's partner has opened an all-girls elementary school in a village outside Kabul. She tells E! News she picked the area because of its population of refugees, people often deprived of social services. She says more than 200 girls have enrolled.

Jolie will fund the school through sales of her Style of Jolie jewelry line.

"Beyond enjoying the artistic satisfaction of designing these jewels, we are inspired by knowing our work is also serving the mutual goal of providing for children in need," Jolie tells E! News.


News Source: www.philly.com

Judge: Angelina Jolie Didn't Plagiarize 'In The Land Of Blood And Honey'

A Croation journalist has lost a lawsuit against Angelina Jolie after claiming the actress plagiarized his work for her film "In The Land of Blood and Honey."

James Braddock published his book "Salamanje Duse" in 2007 with a shorter version in English titled "The Soul Shattering." The journalist claims one of the film's producers, Edin Scarki, read the book which heavily influenced the plot of "In the Land of Blood and Honey."

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled that no breach of copyright had occurred. Even though both the book and film include rape and escape sequences, Braddock can't have claimed to have "invented the concept of rape as a war crime." In addition, "those overlapping concepts are commonplace in books and films depicting war."

Gee also ruled: "although Blood and Honey is also a story of love, it highlights the complications of romantic love during wartime." The film is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s and tells the story of Danijel and Ajla, two Bosnians from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict.

It is unknown whether Braddock will appeal the case.

News Source: www.starpulse.com