In A Time Of Turmoil, Dr. Mukwege's Nobel Peace Prize Is A Heavenly Gift For Us All

In A Time Of Turmoil, Dr. Mukwege's Nobel Peace Prize Is A Heavenly Gift For Us All

Introduction from Anne: Professor De Reus considered the humanitarian righteousness of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Congolese physician Denis Mukwege in 2015, a tremendous honor that was not his that year.

AOC has a decade-long history of writing about the courageous vision of Dr. Mukwege and the horrific challenges faced by women of the Congo. To awaken on October 5, 2018 and read that Dr. Mukwege and activist Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman once taken captive by ISIS, were sharing the 2018 Nobel prize was truly good news at a stressful time in America and around the world.

I met up with Professor De Reus in my own East Coast backyard and also watched her TEDx Talk featured at the end of her article. If you don’t know about Dr. Mukwege and his Panzi Hospital, Lee Ann De Reus shares an excellent 2015 overview.

Amy Schumer & Emily Ratajkowski Arrested Protesting Brett Kavanaugh Vote For Supreme Court

Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski were arrested today, as protesters infiltrated the Hart Senate Office Building in DC, to rally against an affirmative vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Before entering the Senate Building, Schumer and Ratajkowski joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York to address crowds outside of the Supreme Court. Gillibrand told the crowd that the FBI had failed to seriously investigate the claims by Dr. Blasey-Ford that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her. "It was not intended to get to the bottom of this. It was not intended to find the truth. It was intended to be a cover, a cover for those who don't want to look at the truth," Gillibrand said.

Shortly after Gillibrand finished, Schumer and EmRata were arrested, writes Harper’s Bazaar. On Twitter, EmRata shared the experience along with a photo of her carrying a sign which read Respect Female Existence Or Expect Our Resistance. She wrote, "Today I was arrested protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, a man who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Men who hurt women can no longer be placed in positions of power."

Christy Turlington Burns Launches 'Giving Birth in America: California', A Dramatic Turnaround Story

Christy Turlington Burns Launches 'Giving Birth in America: California', A Dramatic Turnaround Story

Giving Birth in America is a documentary series that examines some of the reasons for the alarming current statistics about maternal mortality rates in the US, where the US finds itself with maternal mortality stats ranking at the very bottom of the developed world. The series is presented by Every Mother Counts, the non-profit founded by Christy Turlington Burns in 2011, dedicated to making childbirth safe for women everywhere. This fifth and most recent episode, California, focuses on Dr. Cristina Gamboa, an OB-GYN in Watsonville who provides pre-natal health care to an immigrant farmworker from Mexico with a high-risk pregnancy. 

Christy Turlington Burns discusses her new documentary, made with ‘Every Mother Counts’ and ‘Giving Birth in America’ director/producer Clancy McCarty in the October 2018 issue of C Magazine.

Liya Kebede In 'Modern Bohemia' By Bjorn Iooss For Sunday Times Style Magazine UK Sept. 30, 2018

Liya Kebede In 'Modern Bohemia' By Bjorn Iooss For Sunday Times Style Magazine UK Sept. 30, 2018

Top model Liya Kebede is styled by Verity Parker in ‘Modern Bohemia’, a psychedelic mix of good vibrations clothes from Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga and more. Bjorn Iooss flashes the Ethiopian beauty and global women’s activist for The Sunday Times Style Magazine UK.

Like Christy Turlington Burns, featured today about her upcoming fifth installment documentary around maternal health, Kebede is also dedicated to maternal health as an ambassador for the World Health Organization and through her own Lemlem Foundation.

Adriana Lima Becomes Puma Women's Training Ambassador

Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima has staying power, being hard at work since the late 90s. Now the boxing queen ‘gym inspo’ has been named Puma’s international training ambassador, and she sits down with Glamour UK to talk her badass fearless female self.

All the sweat in the campaign is my own — I want to show the reality . . .

I believe in advertising that people want to feel related to you as a human. What I always stand for through my work is that I like to show reality, what is real. For instance, over the last few days, shooting for Puma, everything that you see in the campaign is real, I go out there and I am working out for real. The sweat you are going to see is real, it’s not a set up. I believe Puma wants to empower women to stretch and reach their goals whatever they are and whatever that takes whether that is through being fashionable or feeling good about themselves.

The lesson I want to teach my children about body image and fitness is . . .

Feeling good is not a physical matter, feeling good is a thing that is inside of you. You are the one who has to figure out what makes you happy, whatever that is. If it’s taking a walk, dancing, that’s a form of workout. It’s a matter of doing the little things that make you smile – that’s the secret to life. 

Adriana Lima Archives @ AOC

Global Citizen Dakota Johnson Covers Tatler UK November 2018, Lensed By Jack Waterlot

Global Citizen Dakota Johnson Covers Tatler UK November 2018, Lensed By Jack Waterlot

Actor Dakota Johnson covers the November 2018 issue of Tatler UK. The upcoming ‘Suspiria’ star is styled by Petra Flannery in luxe looks lensed by Jack Waterlot.

Speaking about playing Anastasia Steele in ‘Shades of Grey’, Dakota tells Tatler: “Playing sexual characters is interesting to me,' she says. 'I find it powerful... I've always been fascinated by women who are in touch with their sexuality, who are proud of it, who are not passive about it. I don't think that in order to be respected and in order to feel powerful that you need to be sexless.' She rails against the double standards in society that mean a man can be aggressive and admired for it, whereas 'if you're forthright [as a woman], if you're bossy, and you say what you mean and mean what you say, then sometimes you might be called a bitch or a diva.' She pauses. 'Which is wild.'“

When Time’s Up was formed, Dakota says,'My grandmother (Tippi Hedren) was like, "Guys! This has been going on forever!" It's terrible. She's so strong. She's so elegant. She's so smart and so talented. Her career was completely ruined because she said no. Because she stood up for herself. And so Hitchcock destroyed her. It's not okay to behave in a certain way in order to put yourself in a position of power or leverage. I think my grandmother is extremely supportive of the movement. My mother is extremely supportive. This does need to change.'

Projection Artist Robin Bell Strikes Kavanaugh's DC Courthouse With Brutal Messages

Projection artist and activist Robin Bell has turned his highly-effective visual projections on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, targeting his federal courthouse in DC with interchanging slogans: ‘Brett Kavanaugh Is A Sexual Predator’, ‘Brett Kavanaugh Lied Every Time He Testified’, ‘Brett Kavanaugh Must Withdraw’, and ‘#Believe Survivors’.

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has been accused of a sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, allegations he has denied. The two will appear in front of the Senate Judicial Committee on Thursday. On Wednesday, another woman, Julie Swetnick, walked into the national spotlight, claiming that Kavanaugh had been present while she was gang raped in 1982. And on Wednesday evening, a fourth anonymous, but highly-detailed charge against Kavanaugh was revealed.

On Tuesday night, Bell pulled up in front of the E. Barrett Prettyman United States courthouse in a specially modified light projection van, beaming his message onto the facade of Kavanaugh’s workplace in an effort to highlight the allegations against the nominee and create a public shaming against the Supreme Court nominee. The guerrilla intervention was a collaboration with the women’s advocacy group Ultra Violet.

“It was good to be able to help amplify other people’s voices on this one,” Bell told artnet News in a call. “We made a statement that we believe survivors, that this is who this person is, and that we’re going to go to where he works and project it on the building. It’s somewhat cathartic.”

“I’ve been getting a lot of messages and I can tell you [the projection] really helped people who feel hurt right now and are trying to not allow someone like Kavanaugh to be in power, to continue to be in power, and get to the Supreme Court,” Bell continued.

Kavanaugh's Ex Yale Roommate Says He Drank Excessively, Way Beyond Intake Of Other Yale Students

The media is REALLY behind the curve on the Kavanaugh confirmation, still not reporting the fact that on Friday 49 Yale law profs and two former deans of the Yale Law School demanded a full investigation of Kavanaugh.

The so-called liberal media is also not reporting that on Monday Kavanaugh's former roommate at Yale issued a statement that "he remembered Kavanaugh as "frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk," in a statement released on Monday.

The numbers of people around Kavanaugh who claim that they cannot say w/100% certainty that the alleged sexual attack or harassment incidents happened -- because they were not there -- are very comfortable saying that Kavanaugh drank excessively and way beyond the normal intake for other Yale students.

And his own participation and leadership in groups like the '!00 Kegs or Bust' group at Georgetown Prep does not refute these claims in any way. Rather, they enhance them.

The hearings for a Supreme Court Justice are focused on character. This is not a jury trial.

James Roche said he is inclined to believe the sexual misconduct allegations made by Debbie Ramirez, a fellow classmate at Yale University, who claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party.

Roche, who lived in a two-bedroom unit with Kavanaugh during their freshman year, described Ramirez as "being exceptionally honest, with a trusting manner," and said he believed Kavanaugh may have been "capable" of behaving in the alleged manner.

Fellow Yale professors have also alleged that Kavanaugh picked only attractive law clerks. Married Yale Law School professors Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld are under intense scrutiny after The Guardian reported on Thursday that the two faculty members separately told female law students interviewing with Brett Kavanaugh ’87 LAW ’90 that the Supreme Court nominee prefers female clerks who are good-looking and attractively dressed.

Last year, Chua privately told a group of law school students that it was “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s female clerks “looked like models,” according to The Guardian’s account, which was based on interviews with anonymous law students. She recommended that female clerks dress in an “outgoing way,” The Guardian reported.

Rihanna Becomes Key Ambassador For Barbados, Eager To Work With PM Mottley To Reimagine Barbados

Rihanna and Prince Harry in Barbados on World AIDS Day 2016

Rihanna Becomes Key Ambassador For Barbados, Eager To Work With PM Mottley To Reimagine Barbados

Pop star extraordinaire, collaborator and founder of Fenty brand cosmetics and lingerie, Rihanna has already raised island home Barbados’ international profile and has acted as a cultural ambassador for Barbados.

Now RiRi has a new title and it’s a doozy: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. “Rihanna has a deep love for this country and this is reflected in her philanthropy, especially in areas of health and education,” Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said in the announcement. “She also shows her patriotism in the way she gives back to this country and continues to treasure the island as her home.”

Her “multidimensional achievements and global influence” will lend to her new responsibilities, which include promoting education, tourism and investment, the announcement said.

“She has also demonstrated, beyond her success as a pop icon, significant creative acumen and shrewdness in business. It is therefore fitting that we engage and empower her to play a more definitive role as we work to transform Barbados.,” Mottley said in the Thursday announcement.

Empowering Women Is Key To Planned Population Growth in Africa, Educated Citizens, Good Health and Economic Development

Empowering Women Is Key To Planned Population Growth in Africa, Educated Citizens, Good Health and Economic Development

By Alex Ezeh, Dornsife Professor of Global Health, Drexel University

I think about the future of my continent in terms of three questions: Are Africans healthy? Do they have access to a good education? And do they have opportunities to apply their skills?

Millions more Africans have been able to answer yes to these questions in recent years. But there’s an elephant in the room. One of the keys to keeping this progress going is slowing down the rapid rates of population growth in parts of the continent. But population issues are so difficult to talk about that the development community has been ignoring them for years.

Population growth is a controversial topic because, in the not-too-distant past, some countries tried to control population growth with abusive, coercive policies, including forced sterilization. Now, human rights are again at the centre of the discussion about family planning, where they belong. But as part of repairing the wounds created by this history, population was removed from the development vocabulary altogether.

For the sake of Africa’s future, we should bring it back. Based on current trends, Africa as a whole is projected to double in size by 2050. Between 2050 and 2100, according to the United Nations, it could almost double again. In that case, the continent would have to quadruple its efforts just to maintain the current level of investment in health and education, which is too low already.

But if the rate of population growth slows down there will be more resources to invest in each African’s health, education, and opportunity – in other words, in a good life.

Leighton Meester Plans Her Next Episode, Lensed By Matthew Sprout For Porter Edit September 21, 2018

Leighton Meester Plans Her Next Episode, Lensed By Matthew Sprout For Porter Edit September 21, 2018

Actor Leighton Meester is styled by Tracy Taylor in femme fatale looks for ‘The Next Episode’. Matthew Sprout captures Meester for Porter Edit September 21, 2018.

Leaving her role as Blair in Gossip Girl behind, Meesters is interviewed byJennifer Dickinson about her new show ‘Single Parents’ airing September 26 on ABC.

Solve Sundsbo Eyes Jorja Smith Of 'Lost & Found' Debut Album, Interviewed By V Magazine FW 2018

Solve Sundsbo Eyes Jorja Smith Of 'Lost & Found' Debut Album, Interviewed By V Magazine FW 2018

Jorja Smith is styled by Anna Trevelyan in images by Solve Sundsbo for V Magazine Fall 2018./ Hair by Syd Hayes; makeup by Lisa Eldridge

V Magazine 115 introduces us to Jorja Smith with this intro:

Listening to Jorja Smith’s stunner of a debut album, 2018’s Lost & Found, it’s easy to forget that it’s a work crafted by someone just barely out of their teens. Filled with wry observations about longing, identity, and the politics of race and woman-hood, the album is both astute and beautiful—a soul-infected platter of slinky R&B that sounds like it could have been released during the glory days of British trip-hop, centered around a voice wise beyond its years. So when Smith turns up to talk about it, popping by a sushi restaurant in midtown Manhattan en route to a taping of a late-night talk show, she is the very definition of unassuming. Fresh-faced in shorts and a T-shirt, she is both radiant and almost unrecognizable from the glam femme fatale seen in the videos for breakout singles “Let Me Down” and “Beautiful Little Fools.” Sitting down for a cup of green tea, Smith laughs when I mention that I might have mistaken her for a student on her way to class. “My nan always told me I was an old soul,”she says, “But people forget sometimes that I’ve only just turned 21.”

In Africa, Concern Mounts About The Safety Of Botswana's Thriving (And Challenging) Elephant Population

In Africa, Concern Mounts About The Safety Of Botswana's Thriving (And Challenging) Elephant Population

My heart dropped two weeks ago, when global news outlets reported that about 90 carcasses of illegally killed Botswana elephants had been found around a famous wildlife sanctuary Chobe National Park. Thanks to exceptional conservation efforts mandated by Botswana’s former president Ian Khama, the country’s elephant population has swelled to an estimated 120,000  – believed to be the highest concentration of African elephants in the world.

I was embarassed, frankly, over articles that I wrote several years ago about another of Botswana’s great treasures — the adjacent to Chobe National Park, Okavango Delta — and its promise of feminine principles in new luxury lodgings and wildlife conservation in the Okavango Delta. With a love of elephants decades old and a commitment to donate 5% of our GlamTribal business revenues to elephant conservation, I’m not a Pollyanna on the plight of Africa’s elephants.

Days became two weeks, and I failed to write about the Botswana elephants, until I found a tremendous resource last night called The Conversation.com. What a goddess send!!

Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs picks up the story of the terrible tragedy for Botswana’s elephants.

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes didn’t just become an activist two years ago, but the Dutch superstar model, mom, wife, design collaborator and activist for humanity tells Vanity Fair that it’s her role as global ambassador for #Knot on My Planet that gives her a tremendous sense of purpose.

Vanity Fair checked in with Kroes before shooting the new #Knot on My Planet campaign with Naomi Campbell and Serena Williams also part of the production. The Knot on My Planet elephant conservation effort gained momentum when Reed Krakoff became chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. last year. The new collection will expand beyond elephants to also include rhino and lion pieces.

Tiffany has partnered with the Elephant Crisis Fund on the #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign, launching an initial campaign featuring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington Burns, Naomi Campbell and other prominent voices tying a knot to never forget elephants under threat from ivory poachers.

While there has been some good news — China banned all commercial ivory trading in 2017 — the situation remains bleak in many African countries. Most recently, nearly 100 elephants were discovered dead in Botswana, a country that has relaxed its elephant protection policies under its newly-elected president Mokgweetsi Masisi. New reports in Africa are that Botswana is also considering lifting its hunting ban.

Followup October. 21, 2018: The New York Times wrote on September 28 an article ‘Doubts Mount in Botswana Over Charity’s Claim of Elephant ‘Poaching Frenzy’.

We will dig much deeper into the very thoughtful arguments raised in this article concerning the influences of outside groups involved in elephant conservation being pitted against the wishes and interests of native Africans living on the land. The NYT article is too complex and valuable a read to treat it as an addendum.

AFRICAN ELEPHANTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUSAN MCCONNELL.

Returning to Tiffany & Co, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany and chairman and president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, sat down with Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, to discuss his tireless efforts on behalf of these magnificent creatures and what we can all do to help.

LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

Los Angeles, long associated with red carpet glitz and glamour, has voted to ban the sale of fur products, making it the largest American city to respond to a unanimous City Council vote to draft an ordinance that will ultimately prohibit the manufacture and sale of new fur products within the city.

Projected to take two years to institute, the first step is to draft a city ordinance that takes into consideration “how fur apparel is utilized by religious organizations, and possible exemptions, as well as potential conflicts with federal and state laws relating to sale of fur products derived from legally trapped animals,” writes The LA Times.

West Hollywood already has a fur ban, but the law was changed to exempt fur from animals legally trapped under state law. Berkeley and San Francisco have fur bans, adapted to comply with local laws and ordinances.

Keith Kaplan, spokesman for the Fur Information Council of America, a trade group for manufacturers and fur merchants, argued that global retail fur sales are $35.8 billion and that more than 1 million people were employed, as of 2014.

Big industry brands abandoning fur in their collections include Michael Kors, Armani, Gucci and most recently Burberry.

The current London Fashion Week promoted itself as being fur free.

Alma Jodorowsky Is Carefree Code Coco Girl In Theo Wenner's Fall/Winter 2018

Alma Jodorowsky Is Carefree Code Coco Girl In Theo Wenner's Fall/Winter 2018

French actor, fashion model and singer Alma Jodorowsky is a carefree Code Coco girl, showcasing the watch in Theo Wenner’s Fall/Winter 2018 campaign, styled by Belén Casadevall.

#MeToo movement? Chanel is having none of it! Contemporary politics and fighting to keep her birth control? These are not worries in a Coco woman’s world. More female chefs? Who needs them when men do such a splendid job of running everything.

Code Coco watches are “meant to be intriguing, with its parts working together to cleverly reveal different design elements — much like a code,” wrote SCMP last fall. Perhaps it’s all a ruse . . . the Code Coco woman is really in charge . . . like her trust fund owns the whole shooting hotel match, so she doesn’t have a care in the world. She’s really the boss lady in disguise.

Karen Elson Poses In 'Deliver Us' By Tim Walker For Vogue Italia In Advance Of V&A Exhibit

Karen Elson Poses In 'Deliver Us' By Tim Walker For Vogue Italia In Advance Of V&A Exhibit

The legendary Karen Elson is styled by Amanda Harlech in ‘Deliver Us’, couture looks lensed by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia September 2018. Young designer and model James Crewe also appears in select images/ Hair by Malcolm Edwards; makeup by Lynsey Alexander

The photos are included in a new exhibition by Tim Walker — his third solo exhibition — at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, a fantastical event that will run from Saturday September 7, 2019 until March 2020. Designed by art director Shona Heath, one of Walker’s closest friends, the exhibition will include photographs, films, photographic sets and special installations, as well as a series of newly commissioned works inspired the V&A archive. This Karen Elson editorial ‘Deliver Us’ is one of those new works.

“The beautiful and eclectic objects housed in the V&A have influenced Tim since the start of his career,” Susanna Brown, curator of the Tim Walker exhibition at the V&A, shared in the press announcement. “He has spent months exploring our collection and delving deep into the museum stores to gain inspiration for his new pictures, which will form the heart of the exhibition. It will celebrate the contributions of his many talented collaborators and muses too. This is a project we've been talking about for several years, and it's going to be a spectacular show.”

SC Nominee Brett Kavanaugh & Accuser Christine Blasey Ford To Testify Sept. 26

The announcement that accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford have both been invited to testify under oath in a public hearing next Monday ended a day of Senate Republican leaders projecting defiance on calls to slow down the confirmation process.

Dr. Ford has accused Judge Kavanaugh of assaulting her at a house party when he was 17 and she 15. Ford charges that a “stumbling drunk” Kavanaugh attacked her, with his friend Mark Judge present, when she went upstairs to go to the bathroom. According to Ford, Kavanaugh then jumped on top of her, tried to take her clothes off, and when she tried to scream, put his hand over her mouth and turned up the music. She said was able to free herself when Judge jumped on the bed, too, sending the three tumbling, giving her a chance to run into the bathroom and lock the door.

Blasey Ford took and passed a professionally administered polygraph test, administered by a retired FBI agent.

The hearing with Judge Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist in Northern California, sets up a potentially explosive public showdown, stirring up painful to women memories of the 1991 testimony of Anita Hill, who accused the future Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Next Monday’s hearing will play against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement and countless sexual harassment and sexual assault accusations against Donald Trump. His presidency has fired up Democratic women across the nation in massive civic actions and unheard of numbers of women running for political offices at every level in every state.

In an article by her friends in tonight’s The Mercury News, the headline reads #MeToo spurred Christine Blasey Ford to open up. . .

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was a key force in ending the misguided perceptions among Republican white men leaders that the scheduled vote by the judiciary committee would still happen on Thursday. Or that the hearing would somehow not be public.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), a senior member of the judiciary committee, told reporters Monday morning that a hearing was out of the question, calling it a  “show trial.” But after a meeting with Collins in her office, it became clear that his position was no longer untenable, writes The Daily Beast.

“I have said that in order for me to assess the credibility of these allegations that I want to have both individuals come before the Senate Judiciary Committee and testify under oath,” Collins told reporters Monday afternoon.

Collins won; Cornyn lost. And Collins was joined shortly after by her close associate, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, another pro-choice Republican woman.

Retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), made it clear Sunday evening that he would not support Kavanaugh without Blasey Ford publicly telling her story.

“Obviously these are serious charges,” Flake, who sits on the judiciary committee, told reporters. “And if they're true, I think they're disqualifying.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday night that he also found believable testimony from Blase Ford the end of Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Today there are no female Republican members of the Judiciary Committee, but there are four Democratic women, including ranking member Dianne Feinstein, who was elected the year after the Hill-Thomas hearings, in what came to be known as "The Year of the Woman."

Both Sen. Collins and Murkowski are more moderate than most Republican senators. They definitely hold the keys to Brett Kavanaugh’s future, but we shouldn’t assume that other Republican men won’t be persuaded to vote down the nomination.

No one is guaranteed a seat on the US Supreme Court.

L Brands Will Close Henri Bendel To Focus On Struggling Victoria's Secret & Pink

L Brands Will Close Henri Bendel To Focus On Struggling Victoria's Secret & Pink

American retailer L Brands Inc, owner of Victoria’s Secret, Pink and Bath & Body Works announced that it will be closing all 23 Henri Bendel stores, including the historic Fifth Avenue Manhattan flagship to “focus on increasing shareholder value.”

L Brands stock has had a very rough ride in recent years with sales and profits in serious decline at both Victoria’s Secret and now Pink.

Henri Bendel was founded in 1895 when Henri Bendel moved to New York City from Lafayette, La to make hats for Manhattan’s elite. It was the arrival of Geraldine Stutz as president in 1959 that put Bendel on the international fashion map with stylish shoppers carrying the store’s brown and white shopping bags in all the best places.

Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen Named Head Of Planned Parenthood

Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen Named Head Of Planned Parenthood

Baltimore health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen has been named the new head of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Growing up poor in California as a Chinese refugee, Dr. Wen, her little sister and mother received ongoing health care from Planned Parenthood.

Wen is a prodigy who enrolled at Cal State University at age 13, graduating at 18 with a degree in biochemistry. She attended Washington University in St. Louis for medical school and was a fellow at Harvard. Dr. Wen also studied public health at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Before taking the health commissioner position in Baltimore, Dr. Wen forked as an emergency room doctor at George Washington University, where she was also a professor.

Dr. Wen says she is leaving a job she loves in Baltimore because of growing attacks by the Trump administration and other conservatives on Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive health rights.

“I see how the single, biggest health catastrophe of our times is the threat to women’s health,” Wen said. “I am deeply troubled by how women’s health issues are singled out, stigmatized and attacked.”

Planned Parenthood’s need for an articulate and fierce public voice is filled by the outspoken commissioner who is widely known for her newspaper op-eds and TV appearances, writes The Baltimore Sun.