Clooney among protesters arrested

Sat., March 17, 2012

From Wire Reports

George Clooney and his father were arrested Friday during a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy, and the actor said he has asked President Barack Obama to engage China on stopping a humanitarian crisis in northern Africa.

The protesters accuse Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains in the country’s border region with South Sudan.

Clooney, his father, Nick Clooney, and others were arrested after being warned three times not to cross a police line outside the embassy. Those taken into custody included NAACP President Ben Jealous, Martin Luther King III, and actor and comedian Dick Gregory.

Several members of Congress also were arrested, including Massachusetts Reps. James McGovern and John Olver, Texas Rep. Al Green and Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. They were handcuffed and placed into a U.S. Secret Service van. Clooney was released several hours later after paying a $100 fine.

The arrests came after Clooney met this week with Obama, testified in the Senate and attended a state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron. Clooney told the Associated Press before he was arrested that he can only hope to draw attention to the crisis in Sudan but that he doesn’t know if any progress has been made. He said he was impressed, though, with Obama’s engagement on the issue.

“It’s amazing to sit down with a world leader who knows all of the intricacies of what’s going on in Sudan,” he said.

Celtic Woman likes St. Patrick’s in U.S.

The members of Celtic Woman are impressed by the spirited way Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

“The decorations in the bars and restaurants and the buildup makes us very proud to be Irish,” Susan McFadden, the newest member of the musical group, said Thursday.

“The green beer and dyeing your rivers green – we don’t even do that (in Ireland),” violinist Mairead Nesbitt said, adding: “(I love) the fashion. … All the great hats and really, really cool-looking stuff that go with it.”

Currently touring the country in support of their seventh album, “Believe,” the popular group, which is a blend of classically inspired Irish and adult contemporary music, will play a St. Patrick’s Day concert Saturday in Wallingford, Conn. The state’s governor, Dannel P. Malloy, has declared it “Celtic Woman Day” in the state.

The birthday bunch

The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 79. Rock musician Paul Kantner is 71. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 66. Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 58.

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