Beaumont Enterprise - Beaumont,tx,USA - Tavis Smiley admonished people for comparing Barack Obama with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the annual Port Arthur brunch held in memory of the slain civil rights leader.

"I want to respectfully pick that thing apart," Smiley said. "Barack Obama is a politician. He's a masterful politician. We celebrate his masterfulness to gain the highest political office in the land.

"Martin Luther King was not a politician. He was a prophet and don't you ever get it twisted."

Smiley was the keynote speaker at the 23rd annual Martin Luther King Support Group of Southeast Texas brunch held in Port Arthur.

He went

Ventura County Star - Camarillo,CA,USA - The Veterans Day ceremony on November 11 will feature a special guest speaker, Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret). The sixth annual ceremony will be held at 11:00 A.M. at the Rancho Tapo Community Park Veterans Plaza, 3700 Avenida Simi, Simi Valley.

Keynote speaker, Dye, is well known for not only his military service, but as an actor, author, and film consultant for such well known films as "Platoon," "Casualties of War," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Rules of Engagement," and dozens more films. Dye has also been involved in five novels, more than 30 television shows and TV movies, and

PR-CANADA.net (press release) - Murino,Montenegro - Brian Carroll, a B2B expert and author of LEAD GENERATION FOR THE COMPLEX SALE, will speak at MarketingSherpa’s 5th Annual Business-to-Business Demand Generation Summit to be held October 26–28 in San Francisco. Carroll will present his “‘Playbook’ for Growing More Leads” during the three-day summit.

According to Carroll, the biggest challenge organizations face is bringing focus to their lead generation process. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to share my real-world experience with B-to-B marketers who are trying to optimize their lead gen programs,” said Carroll. “My ‘playbook’ addresses the proverbial black hole between your company’s sales and marketing efforts and

MarketWatch - USA - Entrepreneurial success takes inspiration, hard work and quite a bit of luck -- just ask Jeff Taylor, the visionary founder and former CEO of Monster.com and Eons.com. Taylor will be a keynote speaker at URAC's 9th Annual Quality Summit Oct. 14-16 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego.

That winning success combination can be applied to transform any organization into a vibrant hub of energy and productivity. Taylor's presentation, "You Are the CEO of Your Own Life," will be an interactive glimpse into the practices that can bring life and energy into daily business practice.

MarketWatch - USA - World renowned multi-cultural expert Jinsoo Terry is set to speak at The National Association of Asian American Professionals' Leadership Institute on Thursday, August 21, 2008 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM. As an author, newspaper columnist, motivational speaker, live entertainer, comic book creator, and minority business advocate, Jinsoo Terry is one of the most inspirational and highly sought after international speakers today.

The focus of the program will be "Managing a Global and Multicultural Workforce." Designed to teach and inspire employers and employees on how to strengthen a multicultural workforce, the program will consist of an interactive half-day workshop. During this

Aspen Daily News - Aspen,CO,USA - Bill Clinton has an idea about how to solve the world’s most pressing humanitarian problems: It’s the systems, stupid.

Addressing a panoply of world issues from climate change and alternative energy to food security and AIDS yesterday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the former president argued that creatively rethinking and reorganizing current global problem-solving methods would vastly improve civilization.

Clinton’s sober hour-long conversation with Jane Wales, his former White House aide who is currently vice president of philanthropy and society at the Aspen Institute, took place before an overflow crowd at the Institute’s Greenwald Pavilion. The audience included Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, and

Southern California InFocus - Anaheim, CA, USA - Dr. Jamal Badawi is one of the world’s most widely-recognized scholars, having authored several works on Islam and lectured in more than 30 countries.

He is “Professor Emeritus” at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he served as professor of both management and religious studies.
He completed his undergraduate studies in Cairo, Egypt, and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees at Indiana University.
He is also very active in journalism and broadcasting. He designed and presented a 352-segment television series on Islam, many of which were shown all over the world.
He is a member of the Islamic Fiqh Council of North

eNewsChannels - Torrance, CA, USA - Dr. James T. Brown PMP, PE, a widely recognized project management authority and author, has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation. Established in 1980, the CSP is the speaking profession’s international measure of speaking experience and excellence. Fewer than 10 percent of the National Speakers Association speakers hold this professional designation. The CSP designation is conferred by the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the International Federation of Professional Speakers (IFPS) only on accomplished professional speakers who have earned it by meeting strict criteria.

A CSP must document a proven track record of continuing speaking experience and expertise as well as

Send2Press (press release) - Torrance, CA, USA - Dr. James T. Brown PMP, PE, a widely recognized project management authority and author, has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation. Established in 1980, the CSP is the speaking profession's international measure of speaking experience and excellence. Fewer than 10 percent of the National Speakers Association speakers hold this professional designation.

The CSP designation is conferred by the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the International Federation of Professional Speakers (IFPS) only on accomplished professional speakers who have earned it by meeting strict criteria. A CSP must document a proven track record of continuing speaking experience and expertise as well as

StreetInsider.com (subscription) - Birmingham, MI, USA - In its 5th year, the Mind Body & Beyond Expo will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 13-14, 2008. The name highlights the event's focus on the trio of the mind, the body and all things beyond that are in synch with the common goals of clean and natural conscious living. Building on the momentum and public demand for natural and healthy living alternatives, including green products and services, Mind Body & Beyond Expo will offer consumers the opportunity to become more educated about the latest specialty focused products, services, and health and wellness trends available within

Colby News - Waterville, ME, USA - John Stossel is the host of ABC's news program 20/20. His career as a journalist has merited high praise for his work as a consumer reporter and as an investigative reporter. Stossel has won 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times by the National Press Club for excellence in consumer reporting.

Stossel's lecture at Colby will expose the government's monopoly on education and the weak state of the American public education system. His talk will challenge many of the accepted ideas about public education and will offer free market solutions on how to improve the education system in the

ESPN - USA - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wants the players named in the Mitchell report to bear some accountability for their involvement in performance-enhancing drugs -- and that is slowing progress in talks with the players' union on implementing Mitchell's recommendations, The New York Times reported.

Selig, while willing to forgo suspensions for players named in the report, wants those players to be held responsible in some other way, the Times reported, citing two lawyers who had been briefed on the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity.

That accountability could include counseling or fines.

"He wants a small dose of action and that will satisfy

PR Web (press release) - Ferndale, WA, USA - The leading Internet marketing and online technology event for the multifamily industry, Apartment Internet Marketing Conference , announced today that Bob Parsons, CEO of Go Daddy will be the keynote speaker at this year's conference.

The charismatic CEO, known for his marketing prowess, an unconventional approach to online business and some of the most effective Super Bowl commercials ever, will kick-off the AIM 2008 educational conference on Internet marketing and online transactions.

Details on the AIM 2008 conference, which will be held in Scottsdale, AZ, on April 23-25,

"Bob Parsons is a perfect fit as a keynote speaker for this year's Apartment Internet

Daily Colonial - Washington, DC, USA - The super power image of the United States is dwindling among international eyes, according to a group of experts in the Jack Morton Auditorium Wednesday afternoon. The panel moderated by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and former Senator Sam Nunn paralleled this decline with the vigorous “Anti-American” attitudes have emerged in since the start of the Iraq war.

These perceptions served as the basis for the inaugural installment of the “Cohen-Nunn Dialogues,” an event was co-sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Howard-Gilman Foundation.

“Anti-Americanism has become an entrenched set of attitudes around the world,” said Andrew

St. Olaf College News & Announcements - Northfield, MN, USA - St. Olaf College President David R. Anderson '74 has announced that clean water activist Susan Seacrest '75, a recipient of last year's Heinz Award for the Environment, will be this year's Commencement speaker. The Nebraska native will deliver her address May 25.

In 2007 Seacrest was one of six people to share the $1.25 million Heinz Award -- one of the largest individual achievement prizes in the world. In granting the award the Heinz Family Foundation called her "engaging, creative, collaborative and, perhaps most of all, persistent," and referred to her effective advocacy for "protecting the health of our fragile aquifers."

"She

Third Party Watch - USA - A sampling of 98 Libertarian National Convention delegates suggests that Wayne Allyn Root is currently the frontrunner with respect to the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. Of the 14 candidates tested, Root earned 22.45% of delegate votes. He was followed by Steve Kubby with 14.29% and George Phillies with 10.20%.

Several factors need to be considered, however. With less than a quarter of the delegates, it doesn’t look like (at this time) Root could win the first round of votes at the convention. In this case, second choice preferences become extremely important. A comparison of negatives between the various candidates shows that

iBerkshires.com - North Adams, MA, USA - A star, a secretary and a sculptor will speak at Williams College's 219th Commencement on Sunday, June 1.

The main speaker at the afternoon's commencement ceremoney will be Richard Serra, known for his massive steel sculpures. Some weigh hundreds of tons, and viewers can literally walk through the canyons formed by the curved metal slabs. Space, and especially the display site, is crucial to Serra's work.

Perhaps the best known of the speakers - at least to this generation of Williams graduates - is LeVar Burton. The actor, director and author has appeared on some legendary television series - as Kunta Kinte

The Williams Record - Williamstown, MA, USA - Richard Serra, renowned sculpture artist famous for his immense steel pieces, will be speaking at the 219th Commencement exercises on June 1. Actor and director LeVar Burton will be the baccalaureate speaker and former Secretary of State George P. Shultz will give an invited lecture on May 31.

Richard Serra

Serra uses rolls of sheet steel to construct the immense and beautiful sculptures he has become known for. He often requires the cooperation of specially equipped steel mills to complete his gargantuan masterpieces, as he did for Torqued Ellipses at the Dia Center for the Arts in New York.

Notable for their size

SJU The Hawk (subscription) - Philadelphia, PA, USA - The President's Lounge at Saint Joseph's University can be intimidating.

Blood-red carpets and severe woodwork accented by muted, golden light create a sacred space for the portraits of the university's past presidents to hang in all their glory. The stoic, stone white faces that once kept watch over the campus and its students now look upon Rebecca Walker whose vibrant presence is in direct contrast to her surroundings.

Unaffected, Walker commands every inch of the space, filled to capacity with staff, faculty, and students of every color.

A best-selling author, entrepreneur, and advocate for women and the underprivileged, Walker was on campus on

PR Web (press release) - Ferndale, WA, USA - Premier sports agent and inspiration for Jerry Maguire addresses the "Greening" of Sports.

What:It's go green or go home. Meet MinneapolisTM, the Official Convention and Visitors Association, announced today that Leigh Steinberg will deliver the keynote address at the organization's annual meeting. From the new LEED-certified Twins and Gophers stadiums to numerous additional green sports projects on the drawing board, the Minneapolis area is undergoing a sports facility boom.

With that boom comes a hefty carbon footprint. According to Convention Industry Council, Meeting Strategies Worldwide, over a 5-day span, a 2,500-person conference will use 62,500 plates, 90,000 cans/bottles, 75,000 cups, 87,500 napkins

Collegenews.org - Washington, DC, USA - Richard Morgan,  Bowdoin College's William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Constitutional and International Law and Government, has been selected to give a talk before the Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2008.

His talk on the landmark 1940s flag-salute cases "Gobitis and Barnette" is part of the 2008 Leon Silverman Lecture Series, a highly prestigious public lecture series that takes place in Supreme Court chambers on Capitol Hill. Morgan will have the distinct honor of being introduced by Chief Justice John G. Robert Jr.

"It was very pleasant to be asked," noted Morgan, who is a leading expert on

PRWeek - New York, NY, USA - Tucker Carlson, resident bow-tie wearer and conservative commentator at MSNBC, is out as host but will stay on as senior campaign correspondent. The news network will replace Tucker with Race for the White House, to be hosted by political correspondent David Gregory, starting Monday. Refusing to “whine about it,” Carlson praised MSNBC for being nice to him throughout his tenure. He then followed up last week's smackdown of a journalist from The Scotsman by taking a shot at hooker-scandal-surrounded New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer on the way out the door.

In focus: Toni Locy

Former USA Today reporter Toni Locy is fighting

The Money Times - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India - MSNBC canceled the low rated daily show led by Tucker Carlson on Monday and temporarily substituted it with a new, politically oriented program featuring NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory.

Gregory’s program will be shown weeknights beginning at 6 p.m., and he will also carry on covering the White House for NBC News, the parent of MSNBC, the cable channel said.

Also, MSNBC said that Andrea Mitchell, an expert political correspondent for both the cable channel and NBC News, would anchor another new campaign-oriented program, which is to be televised at 1 p.m. weekdays. Currently, the channel shows regular news