Stelmach will step down as Alberta premier in September

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has told Conservative party officials he will officially step down as leader in September.

In a letter to party members obtained by The Journal, Stelmach said he has informed the party’s executive committee that following the spring legislature sitting he will write to the PC president indicating he plans to step down in September.

If that’s the timeline, the party’s official leadership race won’t begin until the fall.

“I have asked the executive committee to appoint a leadership election committee to plan for a leadership vote in September of 2011,” Stelmach said it his

letter.

One source in the party said Stelmach’s timeline “isn’t being well received” by members who want him to speed up his exit to allow the party to choose a new leader as soon as possible. They worry that a seven-month exit will create a leadership vacuum and grind government work to a crawl.

Others say Stelmach should be free to set his own agenda.

“I think it’s very appropriate,” said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky. “It gives us time to complete the spring session, complete the new budget and new legislation. It gives people over the summer time to plan. The premier has done a very good job under some very difficult circumstances and I think he has made a good decision regarding the timing.”

Battle River-Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths said he thinks the Conservative caucus will be satisfied with the timing.

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A conservative split aids Obama on Egypt

The democratic uprising in Egypt has brought into relief a gradual and little-noticed transformation in American politics. Over the past decade, ideological divisions on the role of democracy and human rights in American foreign policy have been scrambled.

In the meantime, President Obama has restored foreign policy realism to the White House, giving a liberal gloss to what had traditionally been a conservative disposition. This mildly liberal realism explains why Obama and his team have been so cautious in their dealings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The most striking change is among conservatives. In the past, the default position of much of the American right was to support foreign strongmen friendly to the United States, on the theory that whoever succeeded them would be worse for their own people and disastrous for American interests.
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Indian ‘Oscars’ will put Bollywood’s focus on Toronto

When Bollywood’s version of the Oscars coming to Toronto in June, it will not only be the first time the event is held in North America. It will also be the first chance many fans here will have to see how massive the Bollywood industry is globally.

The International Indian Film Academy will be hosting the three-day awards event June 23-25, culminating in the main awards show, open to the public at the Rogers Centre.
As in North America, India has a plethora of awards shows. But organizers say that, with the star power and high TV ratings the IIFA show attracts, it has become Bollywood’s Oscar equivalent.

Now in their 12th year, the IIFA awards have never been held in India – the IIFA claims that foreign host sites heighten the show’s glamour for the Bollywood press. They have previously been held in the U.K., South Africa, the Netherlands and China. North America was overdue.

“We consider this a landmark event, huge in proportion,” says Sabbas Joseph, director of IIFA. “It is the highest-rated, most-watched television [Indian] event … It has a viewership of 700 million to 800 million globally.”

Suriya Not A Part Of 3 Idiots Remake

For the past few days, the major news of kollywood is that suriya is playing the lead role in 3 idiots remake. Now it is confirmed that Suriya is not in 3 idiots remake project.

The remake of 3 idiots has been the talk of kollywood. Many rumours being moving around the kollywood about this project. Gemini film circuit has got the remake rights of 3 idiots and the production signed Director shankar for this project.

3 Idiots remake to be made in both Tamil and Telugu is red hot both inside as well as outside the industry. For quite a while now, there have been reports doing rounds saying that Suriya was offered the lead role in the film. But the news is mere speculation. Shooting of the film has commenced in Ooty.

The latest news is that Suriya is not a part of the film. Sources reveal that Vijay and Ileana have been roped in to play the lead in it. Also, Satyaraj has been signed to play the role of principal, a role played by Boman Irani in the original version. It also stars Sriram and Jeeva in important roles.

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Brad Pitt – Angelina In Rift With George Clooney

Reportedly, things are not well between George Clooney and Brad Pitt – Angelina Jolie. George Clooney and Brad Pitt rift was because of their kids. Sources have revealed that once when the Brangelina family came to George Clooney's house, the kids created a great chaos in his Italian mansion. The bigger reason of the rift between them was the fact that Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie were not paying notice of their kids.

“George was furious when he discovered the kids created mayhem in his lavishly furnished home — trashing the house, moving his furniture and tampering with his clothes,” a source told American tabloid the National Enquirer.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney rift had happened once before because of Angelina Jolie. Reportedly, Angelina Jolie does not like Georges effect on Brad Pitt. A source had revealed, “Angelina has always considered George to be a hard-drinking, skirt-chasing bad influence on Brad.
“She hates the whole boy’s club mentality, and when Brad was working on Ocean’s Thirteen in Vegas, she was afraid George and his mischief makers would lead her man astray.
And George, has been able to semi-tolerate Angelina because of her human rights work, but he’s never really liked her.”

‘Seedan’ is not mine: Dhanush

Despite claims being made repeatedly that ‘Seedan’ is an out and out Dhanush film, the actor has cleared the air by saying that he is only making a special appearance in the movie directed by Subramaniam Siva.

"I am playing an important role, but not playing the lead. Only 25-minutes footage," said Dhanush, in an apparent bid to avoid any disappointment to his fans who would throng theatres with an idea that their favourite star would come all through the movie.

At the same time, the actor is also recommending ‘Seedan’ to film-buffs. "It’s a simple and humble film. The climax, I promise you, will give goosebumps," according to Dhanush.

A remake of Malayalam hit ‘Nandanam’, ‘Seedan’ has newcomer Krishna and Ananya in lead roles. Dhanush is playing the role of a cook, who works in a palatial bungalow where Ananya is a maid.

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Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban Open Up About Baby Faith

Nicole Kidman and her husband, country star Keith Urban, have finally opened up about the latest addition to their family, baby Faith Margaret, and the meaning behind her chosen name.
“Just the way she came into our world — we needed to have every bit of faith we could muster,” Keith told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday about their new baby, born via surrogate. “It was completely out of our control. We just kept saying, ‘We gotta have faith, we gotta have faith. She’s going to be fine.’
“And we just thought, ‘What a perfect name for her,’” the proud daddy smiled.
“Margaret is the name of my dad’s mother, my grandmother,” Nicole added. “She had her last baby when she was 49, so, she’s my inspiration.”
The easy-on-the-eyes couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Sunday Rose, and Nicole revealed that Sunday is thrilled to have a little sister.
“She’s so into [Faith] and she’s crazy about her,” Nicole told Shaun. “We really wanted Sunday to have a sibling, you know, so, so now we’ve got Sunday and Faith Margaret…we’ve got our hands full! We’re really happy.”
Sunday and Faith are definitely reaping the benefits of having a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter for a father – Keith admits he often sings to his girls.
“Right now [they] are into ‘Skip To My Lou,’” he told Shaun. “We crank that out pretty regularly.”