Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Leigh Baskett (born June 12, 1985), also known professionally by her birth name of Kendra Wilkinson, is an American television personality and glamour model. She is well known for her role on the E! reality-television show The Girls Next Door, on which her life as one of Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends was documented. Although not a Playboy Playmate, she has appeared in three nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door costars and fellow Hefner girlfriends Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. Her own reality series, Kendra, debuted in June 2009.

Early life

Kendra Wilkinson was born in San Diego, California, and is of Irish descent. She is the elder of two children; her younger brother is Colin. Her mother, Patti, was originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and had been a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. Her father, Eric, was raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and Ocean City, New Jersey, before moving to San Diego, California, at age 15. He received a degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and went on to found several biotechnology companies, before retiring at the age of 48. Patti and Eric married on November 5, 1983. They divorced on March 25, 1994, when Kendra was eight. Her grandmother Gloria Wilkinson died in December 2004. Wilkinson grew up in Clairemont, a middle-class community in central San Diego, and attended Clairemont High School, from which she graduated in 2003. She played softball for six years with the Clairemont Bobby Sox. When she left high school she began working as a glamour model, and also briefly worked as a dental assistant.

Career

Wilkinson met Hugh Hefner at his 78th birthday party in April 2004, where she was hired to be one of the "painted girls" (women who are nude except for painted-on accessories). Hefner had apparently seen her picture, shot by photographer Kim Riley, on a fax machine at the Playboy Mansion and wanted to know who she was. Shortly after they met, Hefner asked Wilkinson to be one of his girlfriends, and he moved her into the Playboy Mansion along with her dogs, Raskal and Martini.

She was featured on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door, which followed the lives of Hefner's then-girlfriends: Wilkinson, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. She moved out of the Playboy Mansion in 2009 after meeting her future husband, Hank Baskett, and filmed her own spin-off reality show for E! called Kendra. The first season was about her living on her own and planning her wedding.

Wilkinson has made several cameos on different programs such as Las Vegas and Entourage. She also appeared in Akon's music video "Smack That". While on the set of the video, Eminem poured a bottle of water on her head, though the two later reconciled. In 2006, she appeared in the Playboy Special Editions Sexy 100. In 2007, she appeared in Nickelback's music video of "Rockstar", along with Madison and Marquardt. They also had a cameo role in the 2006 film Scary Movie 4.Wilkinson also showed her creative side as a rapper on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar which debuted on August 30, 2007. She rapped to Ludacris’ "Fantasy", in response to the question asked by the show's host, "Can Kendra move her mouth as fast as she moves her booty?" She went on to take second place, losing to Shar Jackson.

Wilkinson's stated career goal is to become a massage therapist or sports announcer. In December 2005, she became a regular blogger columnist at the website of the Philadelphia Eagles,a team for which her mother had been a professional cheerleader, and for which her husband played professionally.

Wilkinson stars in a spinoff of Girls Next Door, titled Kendra, which focuses on her life after leaving the Playboy Mansion and getting engaged to then Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The Girls Next Door executive producer Kevin Burns serves in the same capacity on the series.Kendra premiered on June 7, 2009, and had record breaking numbers for E! with 2.6 million viewers, and was the highest-rated reality debut for the network since 2002's premiere of The Anna Nicole Show.[citation needed] E! ordered eight episodes. She is currently working on a second season of the show which premiered March 14, 2010. In 2010 she published a memoir, Sliding Into Home.

In 2007 Baskett appeared on an episode of WWE Raw with Bridget Marquardt.

Personal life

On August 13, 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wilkinson was Olive Garden's "Biggest Celebrity Fan." Wilkinson has described Olive Garden's cuisine as "my soul food." The newspaper emphasized that her repeated enthusiastic public endorsements of the family restaurant were genuine, personal and were not tied to any payment from Olive Garden. In fact, the company was reported as viewing Wilkinson's endorsements with "mixed feelings," and something on which it was reluctant to comment since the restaurant emphasizes its family-friendly nature.

On March 17, 2010, Wilkinson's E! True Hollywood Story premiered on E! Entertainment Television. During the hour-long episode, she discussed her rocky road to stardom.

Marriage

On September 22, 2008, the International Business Times reported that Wilkinson was engaged to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. Wilkinson initially denied this, but she later admitted she was in a relationship with Baskett on October 7, 2008 in an interview with Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately. On November 6, 2008, E! Online announced Wilkinson and Baskett were engaged, after he proposed the previous Saturday at the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

Wilkinson married Baskett on June 27, 2009, at the Playboy Mansion. Although it was initially announced that Hugh Hefner would give the bride away, Kendra's brother Colin walked her down the aisle. Wilkinson's family was in attendance, as well as former Girls Next Door stars Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. Us Weekly paid the couple $120,000 for the wedding pictures. On the wedding episode of Kendra, Kendra and Hank said that Kendra would be taking Hank's last name.

Pregnancy

On June 11, 2009, Wilkinson announced that she and Baskett were expecting their first baby together.  The baby, a boy named Hank Baskett IV, was born December 11, 2009 at 12:37 a.m. in Carmel, Indiana, by Caesarian section, weighing in at 9 pounds 5 ounces (4.2 kg).Kendra's friends hosted a baby shower on September 9, 2009. Wilkinson told E! News that Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner will be the godfather of the baby-on-the-way. "He was like, 'Oh my god!' and then he cried... Hef will be the godfather," Wilkinson said, but she later denied this in an interview in OK magazine.

In an interview after the birth of Hank IV, Wilkinson revealed she had suffered post-partum depression. "After giving birth, I never brushed my hair, my teeth, or took a shower," said Wilkinson. "I looked in the mirror one day and was really depressed. "After the birth she weighed 140 pounds, according to a E! interview. She attributed her depression to moving to Indianapolis where her husband played so soon after Hank IV's birth and feeling isolated.

Sex tape

In May of 2010, a video recording of Wilkinson having sex with a then unidentified man surfaced. The recording was acquired by Vivid Entertainment, who plans to distribute the tape as Kendra Exposed. Wilkinson is contesting the release, and threatened to sue should it be released. RadarOnline reported that in 2008, Wilkinson herself set up a company called "Home Run Productions LLC," through which she made several attempts to sell sex tapes. Sources have reported that Wilkinson is being paid $680,000, as well as splitting profits with Justin Frye, the man in the video.

Advertisement:Valentine's Day Celebrations And Gifts For Your Lovely Personality, Save 70.0% on select products from BALEAF with promo code 70FKOUX3, through 1/31 while supplies last.,  Jewellery and Clothes of First Ladies, 

(source:wikipedia)

Bettie Page

Bettie Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008)was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups". Her look, including her jet black hair, blue eyes and trademark bangs, has influenced many artists.

She was also "Miss January 1955" one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society," Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told the Associated Press.

Her later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state psychiatric hospital. In 1959, she converted to Christianity, and later worked for Billy Graham. After years of obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s.

Early life

Page was born Betty Mae Page in Nashville, Tennessee, the second child of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle. At a young age, Page had to face the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. After her father, whom Page would accuse of molesting her starting at age 13, was imprisoned, Page and her two sisters lived in an orphanage for a year. During this time, Page's mother worked two jobs, one as a hairdresser during the day and washing laundry at night.

As a teenager, Page and her sisters tried different makeup styles and hairdos imitating their favorite movie stars. She also learned to sew. These skills proved useful years later for her pin-up photography when Page did her own makeup and hair and made her own bikinis and costumes. During her early years, the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability.

A good student and debate team member at Hume-Fogg High School, she was voted "Most Likely to Succeed". On June 6, 1940, Page graduated as the salutatorian of her high school class with a scholarship. She enrolled at George Peabody College, with the intention of becoming a teacher. However, the next fall she began studying acting, hoping to become a movie star. At the same time, she got her first job, typing for author Alfred Leland Crabb. Page graduated from Peabody with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1944.

In 1943, she married high school classmate Billy Neal in a simple courthouse ceremony shortly before he was drafted into the Navy for World War II. For the next few years, she moved from San Francisco to Nashville to Miami and to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she felt a special affinity with the country and its culture. In November 1947, back in the United States, she filed for divorce.

Modeling career

Bettie Page is tied and spanked in an image from Bizarre.

Following her divorce, Page worked briefly in San Francisco, and in Haiti. She moved to New York City, where she hoped to find work as an actress. In the meantime, she supported herself by working as a secretary. In 1950, while walking along the Coney Island shore, she met Jerry Tibbs, a police officer with an interest in photography. She was a willing model, and Tibbs took pictures of her and put together her first pinup portfolio.

In late-1940s America, "camera clubs" were formed to circumvent laws restricting the production of nude photos. These clubs existed, ostensibly, to promote artistic photography; but in reality, many were merely fronts for the making of pornography. Page entered the field of "glamour photography" as a popular camera club model, working initially with photographer Cass Carr. Her lack of inhibition in posing made her a hit. Her name and image became quickly known in the erotic photography industry; in 1951, her image appeared in men's magazines such as Wink, Titter, Eyefull and Beauty Parade.

From 1952 through 1957, she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order photographs with pin-up, bondage or sadomasochistic themes, making her the first famous bondage model. Klaw also used Page in dozens of short, black-and-white 8mm and 16mm "specialty" films, which catered to specific requests from his clientele. These silent featurettes showed women clad in lingerie and high heels, acting out fetishistic scenarios of abduction, domination, and slave-training; bondage, spanking, and elaborate leather costumes and restraints were included periodically. Page alternated between playing a stern dominatrix, and a helpless victim bound hand and foot. Klaw also produced a line of still photos taken during these sessions. Some have become iconic images, such as his highest-selling photo of Page—shown gagged and bound in a web of ropes, from the film Leopard Bikini Bound. Although these "underground" features had the same crude style and clandestine distribution as the pornographic "stag" films of the time, Klaw's all-female films (and still photos) never featured any nudity or explicit sexual content.

In 1953, Page took acting classes at the Herbert Berghof Studio, which led to several roles on stage and television. She appeared on The United States Steel Hour and The Jackie Gleason Show. Her off-Broadway productions included Time is a Thief and Sunday Costs Five Pesos. Page acted and danced in the feature-length burlesque revue film Striporama by Jerald Intrator. She was given a brief speaking role, the only time her voice has been captured on film. She then appeared in two more burlesque films by Irving Klaw (Teaserama and Varietease). These featured exotic dance routines and vignettes by Page and well-known striptease artists Lili St. Cyr and Tempest Storm. All three films were mildly risque, but none showed any nudity or overtly sexual content.

In 1954, during one of her annual vacations to Miami, Florida, Page met photographers Jan Caldwell, H. W. Hannau and Bunny Yeager. At that time, Page was the top pin-up model in New York. Yeager, a former model and aspiring photographer, signed Page for a photo session at the now-closed wildlife park Africa USA in Boca Raton, Florida. The Jungle Bettie photographs from this shoot are among her most celebrated. They include nude shots with a pair of cheetahs named Mojah and Mbili. The leopard skin patterned Jungle Girl outfit she wore was made, along with much of her lingerie, by Page herself. A large collection of the Yeager photos, and Klaw's, were published in the book Bettie Page Confidential (St. Martin's Press, 1994).

After Yeager sent shots of Page to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, he selected one to use as the Playmate of the Month centerfold in the January 1955 issue of the two-year-old magazine. The famous photo shows Page, wearing only a Santa hat, kneeling before a Christmas tree holding an ornament and playfully winking at the camera.

In 1955, Bettie won the title "Miss Pinup Girl of the World". She also became known as "The Queen of Curves" and "The Dark Angel". While pin-up and glamour models frequently have careers measured in months, Page was in demand for several years, continuing to model until 1957.Although she frequently posed nude, she never appeared in scenes with explicit sexual content.

In 1957, Page gave "expert guidance" to the FBI regarding the production of "flagellation and bondage pictures" in Harlem.

The reasons reported for her departure from modeling vary. Some reports mention the Kefauver Hearings of the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency (after a young man apparently died during a session of bondage which was rumored to be inspired by Page), which ended Klaw's bondage and S&M mail-order photography business. In fact, the United States Congress called her to testify to explain the photos in which she appeared. While she was excused from appearing before the committee, the print negatives of many of her photos were destroyed by court order. For many years after, the negatives that survived were illegal to print. However, the most obvious reason for ending her modeling career and severing all contact with her prior life was her conversion to Christianity while living in Key West, Florida in 1959 in combination with the 1957 trials.

Years out of the spotlight

Photographer Sam Menning was the last person to photograph a pin-up of Page before her retirement.

On New Year's Eve 1958, during one of her regular visits to Key West, Florida Page attended a service at what is now the Key West Temple Baptist Church. She found herself drawn to the multiracial environment and started to attend on a regular basis. She would in time attend three bible colleges, including the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon and, briefly, a Christian retreat known as "Bibletown", part of the Boca Raton Community Church, Boca Raton, Florida.

She dated industrial designer Richard Arbib in the 1950s. She then married Armond Walterson in 1958. They divorced in 1963.

During the 1960s, she attempted to become a Christian missionary in Africa, but was rejected for having had a divorce. Over the next few years she worked for various Christian organizations before settling in Nashville in 1963. She worked full time for Rev. Billy Graham.

She briefly remarried Billy Neal, her first husband, who helped her to gain entrance into missionary work; however, the two divorced again shortly thereafter. She returned to Florida in 1967, and married again, to Harry Lear, but this marriage also ended in divorce in 1972.

She moved to Southern California in 1979. There she had a nervous breakdown and had an altercation with her landlady. The doctors that examined her diagnosed her with acute schizophrenia, and she spent 20 months in a state mental hospital in San Bernardino, California. After a fight with another landlord she was arrested for assault, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed under state supervision for eight years. She was released in 1992 from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County.

A cult following was built around her during the 1980s, of which she was unaware. This renewed attention was focused on her pinup and lingerie modeling rather than those depicting paraphilias, and she gained a certain public redemption and popular status as an icon of erotica from a bygone era. This attention also raised the question among her new fans of what happened to her after the 1950s. The 1990s edition of the popular Book of Lists included Page in a list of once-famous celebrities who had seemingly vanished from the public eye.

 Revival

In 1976, Eros Publishing Co. published A Nostalgic Look at Bettie Page, a mixture of photos from the 1950s. Between 1978 and 1980, Belier Press published four volumes of Betty Page: Private Peeks, reprinting pictures from the private camera club sessions, which reintroduced Page to a new but small cult following. In 1983, London Enterprises released In Praise of Bettie Page — A Nostalgic Collector's Item, reprinting camera club photos and an old cat fight photo shoot.

In the early 1980s, comic book artist Dave Stevens based the female love interest of his hero Cliff Secord (alias "The Rocketeer") on Page.In 1987, Greg Theakston started a fanzine called The Betty Pages and recounted tales of her life, particularly the camera club days. For the next seven years, the magazine sparked a worldwide interest in Page. Women dyed their hair and cut it into bangs in an attempt to emulate the "Dark Angel". The media caught wind of the phenomenon and wrote numerous articles about her, more often than not with Theakston's help. Since almost all of her photos were in the public domain, opportunists launched related products and cashed in on the burgeoning craze.

In a 1993 telephone interview with Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Page told host Robin Leach that she had been unaware of the resurgence of her popularity, stating that she was "penniless and infamous". Entertainment Tonight produced a segment on her. Page, who was living in a group home in Los Angeles, was astounded when she saw the E.T. piece, having had no idea that she had suddenly become famous again. Greg Theakston contacted her and extensively interviewed her for The Betty Page Annuals V.2.

Shortly after, Page signed with Chicago-based agent James Swanson. Three years later, nearly penniless and failing to receive any royalties, Page fired Swanson and signed with Curtis Management Group, a company which also represented the James Dean and Marilyn Monroe estates. She then began collecting payments which ensured her financial security.

After Jim Silke made a large format comic featuring her likeness, Dark Horse Comics published a comic based on her fictional adventures in the 1990s. Eros Comics published several Bettie Page titles, the most popular being the tongue-in-cheek Tor Love Bettie which suggested a romance between Page and wrestler-turned-Ed Wood film actor, Tor Johnson.

The question of what Page did in the obscure years after modeling was answered in part with the publication of an official biography in 1996, Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-up Legend. That year, Bettie Page granted an exclusive one-on-one TV interview to entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz for a short-lived NBC morning magazine program Real Life to help publicize the book. The interview featured her reminiscing about her career and relating anecdotes about her personal life, as well as photos from her personal collection. At Page's request, her face was not shown. The interview was broadcast only once.

Another biography, The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of Pinups written by Richard Foster and published in 1997, told a less happy tale. Foster's book immediately provoked attacks from her fans, including Hefner and Harlan Ellison, as well as a statement from Page that it was "full of lies," because they were not pleased that the book revealed a Los Angeles County Sheriff's police report that stated that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and, at age 56, had stabbed her elderly landlords on the afternoon of April 19, 1979 in an unprovoked attack during a fit of insanity. However, Steve Brewster, founder of The Bettie Scouts of America fan club, has stated that it is not as unsympathetic as the book's reputation makes it to be. Brewster adds that he also read the chapter about her business dealings with Swanson, and stated that Page was pleased with that part of her story.

In 1997, E! True Hollywood Story aired a feature on Page entitled, Bettie Page: From Pinup to Sex Queen.

In a late-1990s interview, Page stated she would not allow any current pictures of her to be shown because of concerns about her weight. However, in 1997, Page changed her mind and agreed to a rare television interview for the aforementioned E! True Hollywood Story/Page special on the condition that the location of the interview and her face not be revealed (she was shown with her face and dress electronically blacked out). In 2003, Page allowed a publicity picture to be taken of her for the August 2003 edition of Playboy. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times ran an article headlined A Golden Age for a Pinup, covering an autographing session at her current publicity company, CMG Worldwide. Once again, she declined to be photographed, saying that she would rather be remembered as she was.

In a 1998 interview with Playboy, she commented on her career:

I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous.

Within the last few years, she had hired a law firm to help her recoup some of the profits being made with her likeness.

According to MTV, "Katy Perry's rocker bangs and throwback skimpy jumpers. Madonna's Sex book and fascination with bondage gear. Rihanna's obsession with all things leather, lace and second-skin binding. Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. The SuicideGirls Web site. The Pussycat Dolls. The entire career of Marilyn Manson's ex-wife Dita Von Teese" would not have been possible without Page.

Death

According to long-time friend and business agent Mark Roesler, on December 6, 2008, Bettie Page was hospitalized in critical condition. Roesler was quoted by the Associated Press as saying Page had suffered a heart attack and by Los Angeles television station KNBC as claiming Page was suffering from pneumonia. A family friend said Page was in a coma, a claim not denied by Roesler. Her family eventually agreed to discontinue life support, and she died at 18:41 PST on December 11, 2008.

She is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Films

Filmography

* Striporama (1953)

* Varietease (1954)

* Teaserama (1955)

* Irving Klaw Bondage Classics, Volume I (London Enterprises, 1984)

* Irving Klaw Bondage Classics, Volume II (London Enterprises, 1984)

* Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen (Cult Epics, 2005)

* Bettie Page: Bondage Queen (Cult Epics, 2005)

* 100 Girls by Bunny Yeager (Cult Epics, 2005)

* Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 4 (Something Weird Video, 2007)

* Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 20 (Something Weird Video, 2008)

DVDs

Most, if not all, of Page's existing films have been reissued on DVD, such as Bettie Page: Varietease/Teaserama, as well as a collection of five shorts called Betty Page in Bondage. In 1984, London Enterprises, a producer of S&M films, added music and narration to 28 of Klaw's silent fetish movies for the two-volume video Irving Klaw Bondage Classics. Page appears in half of these featurettes. In 2005, both volumes were released on a single DVD by Cult Epics as Bettie Page: Bondage Queen.

A compilation of her burlesque dancing performances from Striporama, Varietease, and Teaserama plus The Exotic Dances of Bettie Page (13 black-and-white dancing and cat-fight shorts) are on the Cult Epics DVD release Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen.

The DVD 100 Girls by Bunny Yeager (also by Cult Epics) is a documentary with behind-the-scenes footage on Yeager's photo sessions with Page and other pin-up models. Page also appears in another set of Irving Klaw bondage reels in Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 20, a collection of vintage fetish shorts produced by Something Weird Video.

Biopics

In 2004, Cult Epics produced the biographical film Bettie Page: Dark Angel. This low-budget straight-to-disc biopic centers on the 1953–1957 Irving Klaw period, faithfully recreating six lost fetish films she did for Klaw. Model Paige Richards plays the title role.

Another biographical movie, The Notorious Bettie Page (2005), follows her life from the mid-1930s through the late-1950s. It stars actress Gretchen Mol as the adult Page. Bonus footage added to the DVD release includes rare color film from the 1950s of Page playfully undressing and striking various nude poses for the camera.

Academy Award nominated director Mark Mori is scheduled to release the official authorized documentary biography, Bettie Page Reveals All in 2010. After more than 10 years of working with Bettie Page this film provides a unique look into her life. The film contains exclusive interviews with Bettie Page and important figures in her life and career, such as Hugh Hefner.

Guitars

In 2006, Bettie Page and Halo Guitars collaborated to produce a limited edition of custom guitars, released at the 2007 Winter NAMM show in southern California. The total run of one hundred guitars were hand-made and designed by luthier Waylon Ford, art was designed by Pamelina H. and the only collector guitar series authorized by Bettie Page.

In popular culture

* In one of his numerous fictional back-page biographical sketches, Harlan Ellison claimed to be "writing a biography of Bettie Page for young adults".

* Alternative country band BR5-49 recorded an ode to Page named "Bettie, Bettie" on their 1996 debut EP Live From Robert's. In interviews, Page stated that this was her favorite of the songs written about her.

* The Jazz Butcher included the song "Just Like Betty Page" on the 1984 album, A Scandal in Bohemia using Page for a simile in the chorus "You have me/As far as I can see/roped and trussed just like dear Betty Page."

* The BD-3000 luxury droid in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was inspired by Bettie Page.

* Beyoncé pays homage to Bettie Page in her music video for "Video Phone".

* Swedish concept band DC-Pöbeln (a.k.a. Dagcenterpöbeln) from Örebro put Bettie Page on the cover of their only record "Bettan/Dödgrävaren" in 1985.

* In a Venture Bros. episode, the then-Lady au Pair (later Dr Girlfriend) is looking for a villainess costume, and is offered the "Bettie Rage" model.

Advertisement:Valentine's Day Celebrations And Gifts For Your Lovely Personality, Save 70.0% on select products from BALEAF with promo code 70FKOUX3, through 1/31 while supplies last.,  Jewellery and Clothes of First Ladies, 

(source:wikipedia)

Hugh Hefner

Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9, 1926) is an American magazine publisher, founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises.

Early life and work

Read More: Crystal Harris

Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois, the elder of two sons born to Grace Caroline (née Swanson; 1895–1997) and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896–1976), both teachers.Hefner's mother was of Swedish descent and his father had German and English ancestry; on his father's side, Hefner is a direct descendant of Plymouth governor William Bradford. He has described his family as "conservative, Midwest, Methodist". He went to Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then served as a writer for a military newspaper in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. He later graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art in 1949, earning his degree in two and a half years. After graduation, he took a semester of graduate courses in sociology and women and gender studies at Northwestern University but dropped out soon after.

Working as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. In 1953, he mortgaged his furniture, generating a bank loan of $600 (or $800—he cannot recall which) and raised $8,000 from 45 investors—including $1,000 from his mother ("Not because she believed in the venture," he told E! in 2006. "But because she believed in her son") - to launch Playboy, which was initially going to be called Stag Party. The undated first issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949 nude calendar shoot. Hefner, who never met Monroe, bought the crypt next to hers at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Personal life

Hefner married Northwestern University student Mildred Williams in 1949. They had two children, Christie (born November 8, 1952) and David (born August 30, 1955).Before the wedding, Mildred confessed that she had had an affair while he was away in the Army; he called the admission "the most devastating moment of my life." A 2006 E! True Hollywood Story profile of Hefner revealed that Mildred allowed him to sleep with other women, out of guilt for her infidelity and in the hopes that it would preserve their marriage. They divorced in 1959.

Hefner remade himself as a bon vivant and man about town, a lifestyle he promoted in his magazine and two TV shows he hosted, Playboy's Penthouse (1959–1960) and Playboy After Dark (1969–1970). He admitted to being "'involved' with maybe eleven out of twelve months' worth of Playmates" during some of these years.Donna Michelle, Marilyn Cole, Lillian Müller, Shannon Tweed, Brande Roderick, Barbi Benton, Karen Christy, Sondra Theodore, and Carrie Leigh—who filed a $35 million palimony suit against him—were a few of his many partners. In 1971, he acknowledged that he experimented in bisexuality and moved from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Hefner posing with Karissa Shannon, Dasha Astafieva, and Kristina Shannon for Playboy's 55th Anniversary Party at One Sunset, West Hollywood, CA on December 12, 2008

Hefner had a minor stroke in 1985 at age 59. After re-evaluating his lifestyle, he made several changes. The wild, all-night parties were toned down significantly and in 1988, daughter Christie began to run the Playboy empire. The following year, he married Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. The couple had two sons, Marston Glenn (born April 9, 1990) and Cooper Bradford (born September 4, 1991). The E! True Hollywood Story profile noted that the notorious Playboy Mansion had been transformed into a family-friendly homestead. After he and Conrad separated in 1998, Conrad moved into a house next door to the mansion. According to an update on Hefner's twitter account on April 25, 2010, Conrad and her mother are moving to Reno in a new home to be closer to family.

Hefner then began to move an ever-changing coterie of young women into the Mansion, even dating up to seven girls at once; among them, Brande Roderick, Izabella St. James, Tina Marie Jordan, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson. The reality television series The Girls Next Door depicted the lives of Madison, Wilkinson and Marquardt at the Playboy Mansion. In October 2008, all three girls made the choice to leave the mansion. Hefner was quick to rebound and soon began dating his new "Number One" girlfriend, Crystal Harris,along with 20-year-old identical twin models Kristina and Karissa Shannon.The relationship with the twins ended in January 2010. After an 11-year separation, Hefner filed for divorce from Conrad stating irreconcilable differences.Hefner has said that he only remained married to her for the sake of his children, and his youngest child had just turned 18.

Hefner is in talks about making a film about his life. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television and has made several movie appearances as himself. In 2010, he received a "worst supporting actor" nomination for a Razzie award for his performance in Miss March.

Legal controversies

On June 4, 1963, he was arrested for selling obscene literature after an issue of Playboy featuring nude shots of Jayne Mansfield was released. A jury was unable to reach a verdict.

His former secretary, Bobbie Arnstein, was found dead in a Chicago hotel room after an overdose of drugs in January 1975. Hefner called a press conference to allege that she had been driven to suicide by narcotics agents and federal officers. Hefner further claimed the government was out to get him because of Playboy's philosophy and its advocacy of more liberal drug laws.

Politics and philanthropy

The Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award was created by Christie Hefner "to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans."

He has donated and raised money for the Democratic Party.

After it was rejected by Esquire magazine in 1955, Hefner agreed to publish in Playboy Charles Beaumont's science fiction short story, "The Crooked Man," about straight men being persecuted in a world where homosexuality was the norm. After receiving angry letters to the magazine, Hefner wrote a response to criticism where he said, "If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too." Hefner is portrayed as a gay rights pioneer in the documentary film, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel.

In 1978 Hefner helped organize fund-raising efforts that led to the restoration of the Hollywood Sign, Hefner hosted a gala fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion and personally contributed $27,000 (or 1/9th of the total restoration costs) by 'purchasing' the letter Y in a ceremonial 'auction'.

Hefner donated $100,000 to the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts to create a course called "Censorship in Cinema", and $2 million to endow a chair for the study of American film.

Both through his charitable foundation and individually, Hefner also contributes to charities outside the sphere of politics and publishing, throwing fundraiser events for Much Love Animal Rescue, as well as Generation Rescue, a controversial autism campaign organization supported by Jenny McCarthy.

On April 26, 2010 he donated the last $900,000 sought by a conservation group for a land purchase needed to save the famed vista of the Hollywood Sign from being spoiled by development.

Documentary

A new documentary by Brigitte Berman, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel was released on July 30, 2010. This was reportedly the first time that Hefner granted full access to a documentary filmmaker.

Read More: Bettie Page

Advertisement:Valentine's Day Celebrations And Gifts For Your Lovely Personality, Save 70.0% on select products from BALEAF with promo code 70FKOUX3, through 1/31 while supplies last.,  Jewellery and Clothes of First Ladies, 

(source:wikipedia)

Playboy

Playboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with a presence in nearly every medium. Playboy is one of the world's best known brands. In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide.

The magazine has a long history of publishing short stories by notable novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, P. G. Wodehouse, and Margaret Atwood. Playboy features monthly interviews of notable public figures, such as artists, architects, economists, composers, conductors, film directors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, religious figures, politicians, athletes and race car drivers. The magazine throughout its history has expressed a libertarian outlook on political and social issues.

Playboy History,

Playboy's original title was to be Stag Party, but an unrelated outdoor magazine, Stag, contacted Hefner and informed him that they would protect their trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name. Hefner and co-founder and executive vice-president Eldon Sellers met to seek a new name. Sellers, whose mother had worked for the Chicago sales office of the short-lived Playboy Automobile Company, suggested "Playboy."

The first issue, in December 1953, was undated, as Hefner was unsure there would be a second. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used originally was taken for a calendar rather than for Playboy. The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991. The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near mint condition sold for over $5,000 in 2002. The novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, was also serialized in the March, April, and May 1954 issues of Playboy magazine.

The logo, the stylized profile of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie, was originally designed by art designer Art Paul for the second issue to be used as an endnote, but was adopted as the official logo, and has appeared ever since.A running joke in the magazine involves hiding the logo somewhere in the cover art or photograph. Hefner said he chose the rabbit for its "humorous sexual connotation," and because the image was "frisky and playful."

An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six month gap in 1976), the "P" in Playboy had stars printed in or around the letter. The legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. The stars, between zero and twelve, actually indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing.

The Editorial Board of Playboy in 1970. Back, left to right: Robie Macauley, Nat Lehrman, Richard M. Koff, Murray Fisher, Arthur Kretchmer; front: Sheldon Wax, Auguste Comte Spectorsky, Jack Kessie.

From 1966 to 1976 Robie Macauley was the Fiction Editor at Playboy. During this period the magazine published fiction by Saul Bellow, Sean O'Faolain, John Updike, James Dickey, John Cheever, Doris Lessing, Joyce Carol Oates, Vladimir Nabokov, Michael Crichton, John LeCarre, Irwin Shaw, Arthur Koestler, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, John Irving, Anne Sexton, Nadine Gordimer, Kurt Vonnegut and J. P. Donleavy, as well as poetry by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Macauley also contributed all of the popular Ribald Classics series published between January 1978 and March 1984.

Since reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy has seen a decline in circulation and cultural relevance because of competition in the field it founded — first from Penthouse, Oui (which was published as a spin-off of Playboy) and Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic videos; and more recently from lad mags such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. In response, Playboy has attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35 male demographic through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience — such as hip-hop artists being featured in the "Playboy Interview".

Christie Hefner, daughter of the founder Hugh Hefner, joined Playboy in 1975 and became head of the company in 1988. She announced in December 2008 that she would be stepping down from leading the company, effective in January 2009, and said that the election of Barack Obama as the next President had inspired her to give more time to charitable work, and that the decision to step down was her own. “Just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well,” she said.

The magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow during the year to commemorate this event.

The magazine runs several annual features and ratings. One of the most popular is its annual ranking of the top "party schools" among all U.S. universities and colleges. For 2009, the magazine used five considerations: bikini, brains, campus, sex and sports in the development of its list. The top ranked party school by Playboy for 2009 was the University of Miami.

In June 2009, the magazine reduced its publication schedule to 11 issues per year, with a combined July/August issue and on August 11, 2009, London's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Hugh Hefner had sold his English Manor house (next door to the famous Playboy Mansion) for $18 m ($10 m less than the reported asking price) to a Daren Metropoulos and that due to significant losses in the company's value (down from $1billion in 2000 to $84mil in 2009) the Playboy publishing empire is up for sale for $300 m. In December 2009, they further reduced the publication schedule to 10 issues per year, with a combined January/February issue.

On July 12, 2010, Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced Hefner's $5.50 per share offer ($122.5 milion based on shares outstanding on April 30 and the closing price on July 9) to buy the portion of the company he does not already own and take the company private with the help of Rizvi Traverse Management LLC. The company derives much of its income from licensing rather than the magazine. On July 15, Penthouse owner FriendFinder Networks Inc. offered $210 million (the company is valued at $185 million), though Hefner, who already owns 70 percent of voting stock, does not want to sell.,

The Playboy Interview,

Besides its centerfold, a major part of Playboy for much of its existence has been the Playboy Interview, an extensive (usually several thousand-word) discussion between a notable individual and an interviewer (historian Alex Haley, for example, served as a Playboy interviewer on a few occasions; one of his interviews was with Martin Luther King Jr.; he also interviewed Malcolm X, then coauthored his autobiography). One of the magazine's most notable interviews was a discussion with then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in the November 1976 issue in which he stated "I've committed adultery in my heart many times." David Sheff's interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared in the January 1981 issue, which was on newsstands at the time of Lennon's murder; the interview was later published in book format.

Another interview type section, entitled "20Q" (a play on the game of Twenty Questions), was added in October 1978. Cheryl Tiegs was the first interviewee for the section.,

Playboy Circulation,

Image of Lena Soderberg used in many image processing experiments.

The best-selling Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter of all American college men were buying the magazine every month. On the cover was model Pam Rawlings, photographed by Rowland Scherman.

Perhaps coincidentally, a cropped image of the issue's centerfold (which featured Lena Soderberg) became a de facto standard image for testing image processing algorithms. It is known simply as the "Lenna" (also "Lena") image in that field.

Playboy is still the largest selling "men's magazine", selling about 2.6 million a month in the U.S.

In 1970, Playboy became the first gentleman's magazine to be printed in braille.

Bans on the sale of Playboy

This section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (November 2008)

In many parts of Asia, including India, mainland China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei, sale and distribution of Playboy is banned. In addition, sale and distribution is banned in almost all Muslim countries (except Turkey) in Asia and Africa, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. However, it is sold in Hong Kong. In Japan, where genitals of models cannot be shown, a separate edition is published under license by Shueisha.

An Indonesian edition was launched in April 2006, but controversy started before the first issue. Though the publisher said the content of the Indonesian edition will be different from the original edition, the government was tried to ban it by using anti-pornography rules. (The Indonesian government cannot ban any medium.) A Muslim organization, the Islamic Defenders Front (IDF), opposed Playboy on the grounds of pornography. On April 12, about 150 IDF members clashed with police and stoned the editorial offices. Despite this, the edition quickly sold out. On April 6, 2007 the chief judge of the case dismissed the charges because they had been incorrectly filed.

In 1986, the American convenience store chain 7-Eleven removed the magazine. The store returned Playboy to its shelves in late 2003. 7-Eleven had also been selling Penthouse and other similar magazines before the ban.

In 1995 - after a 36 year ban - Playboy was returned to shelves in Ireland. Many women's groups in the country asked for the ban to remain in place.

In bookstores throughout the world, it is common for Playboy, as well as other adult publications, to be put on a higher shelf than other magazines, keeping them out of the reach of children. They are also often wrapped in opaque plastic bags so as to not reveal the cover. Prior to the late 1980s, Playboy was usually covered with a heavy paper wrapping, similar to paper bags commonly found in grocery stores, with the famous bunny head logo imprinted in black on both sides; however, up to and into the 1970s in the United States, mailed issues using the "plain brown wrapper" did not indicate the Playboy name or logo. The magazine could be slid in and out of the wrapper for viewing, as opposed to the modern sealed plastic bags.

Playboy was not sold in the state of Queensland, Australia during 2004 and 2005 but returned as of 2006. Due to declining sales, the last Australian edition of Playboy was the January 2000 issue.

Playboy Litigation,

On the January 14, 2004, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s (PEI) trademark terms "Playboy" and "Playmate" should be protected in the situation where a user typing "Playboy" or "Playmate" in a browser search was instead shown advertisements of companies that competed with PEI. (The decision reversed an earlier district court ruling.) The suit started on April 15, 1999, when Playboy sued Excite Inc. and Netscape for trademark infringement.

Read More: Penthouse (magazine) and Hugh Hefner

Photographers

Many notable photographers have contributed to Playboy, including Ken Marcus,Richard Fegley,Arny Freytag, Ron Harris, Tom Kelley, David Mecey,Russ Meyer, Pompeo Posar, Suze Randall, Herb Ritts,Stephen Wayda, Sam Wu, Mario Casilli, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton,and Bunny Yeager.,

Playboy Celebrities,

For a full listing, please see List of people in Playboy 1953–1959, 1960–1969, 1970–1979, 1980–1989, 1990–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2019.

Many celebrities (singers, actresses, models, etc.) have posed for Playboy over the years. This list is only a small portion of those who have posed. Some of them are:,

Playboy Film,

* Marilyn Monroe (December 1953) (Never actually posed for Playboy itself)

* Jayne Mansfield (February 1955)

* Mara Corday (October 1958)

* Ursula Andress (June 1965)

* Carol Lynley (March 1965)

* Kim Basinger (February 1983)

* Janet Jones (March 1987)

* Drew Barrymore (January 1995)

* Daryl Hannah (November 2003)

* Denise Richards (December 2004),

Playboy Music:,

* LaToya Jackson (March 1989/Nov 1991)

* Fem2fem (December 1993)

* Nancy Sinatra (May 1995)

* Samantha Fox (October 1996)

* Linda Brava (April 1998)

* Belinda Carlisle (August 2001)

* Tiffany (April 2002)

* Carnie Wilson (August 2003)

* Deborah Gibson (March 2005)

* Willa Ford (March 2006),

Playboy Sport:,

* Svetlana Khorkina (November 1997 Russian edition)

* Katarina Witt (December 1998)

* Tanja Szewczenko (April 1999 German Edition)

* Joanie Laurer (November 2000 and January 2002)

* Gabrielle Reece (January 2001)

* Kiana Tom (May 2002)

* Torrie Wilson (May 2003 and March 2004

* Amy Acuff (September 2004)

* Amanda Beard (July 2007)

* Ashley Harkleroad (August 2008),

Playboy Television:,

* Linda Evans (July 1971)

* Suzanne Somers (February 1980 and December 1984)

* Dana Plato (June 1989)

* Shannen Doherty (March 1994 and December 2003)

* Farrah Fawcett (December 1995 and July 1997)

* Women of Baywatch (June 1998)

* Claudia Christian (October 1999)

* Shari Belafonte (September 2000)

* Brooke Burke (May 2001 and November 2004)

* Susie Feldman (August 2008),

Playboy International editions,

This map shows the countries where Playboy is published. The dark pink indicates the countries where regional editions of the magazine are produced today and the lighter pink indicates the countries where regional editions of Playboy were once published.

(starting at the accompanying date, or during the accompanying date range)

* Argentina (1985–1995, 2006–),Australia (1979–2000),Brazil (1975–),Bulgaria (2002–),Colombia (2008–),Croatia (1997–),Czech Republic (1991–),Estonia (2007–),France (1973–),Georgia (2007–2009),Germany (1972–),Greece (1985–),

Hong Kong (1986–1993), Hungary (1989–1993, 1999–),Indonesia (2006–2007),

 Italy (1972–2003, 2008-),Japan (1975–),Latvia (2010-),Lithuania (2008-),

Macedonia (2010- ),Mexico (1976–1998, 2002–),Netherlands (1983–),

Norway (1998–1999),Philippines (2008-),Poland (1992–),Portugal (2009-),

Romania (1999–),Russia (1995–),Serbia (2004–),Slovakia (1997–2002, 2005–),

Slovenia (2001–),South Africa (1993–1996),Spain (1978–),Sweden (1998–1999), Taiwan (1990–2003),Turkey (1986–1995),Ukraine (2005–),

United States (1953–),Venezuela (2006–),

Playboy Other editions,

The success of Playboy magazine has led PEI to market other versions of the magazine, the Special Editions (formerly called News Stand Specials), such as Playboy's College Girls and Playboy's Book of Lingerie, as well as the Playboy video collection.

The growth of the Internet prompted the magazine to develop an official web presence called Playboy Online or Playboy.com, which is the official website for Playboy Enterprises, and an online companion to Playboy magazine. The site has been available online since 1994. As part of the online presence, Playboy developed a pay web site called the Playboy Cyber Club in 1995 which features online chats, additional pictorials, videos of Playmates and Playboy Cyber Girls that are not featured in the magazine. Archives of past Playboy articles and interviews are also included. In September 2005, Playboy launched the online edition of the magazine Playboy Digital.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) has published a Braille edition of Playboy since 1970. The Braille version includes all the written words in the non-Braille magazine, but no pictorial representations. Congress cut off funding for the Braille magazine translation in 1985, but U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan reversed the decision on First Amendment grounds.

In 2010 Playboy introduced "The Smoking Jacket", a safe-for-work website designed to appeal to young men, while avoiding nude images or key words that would cause the site to be filtered or otherwise prohibited in the workplace.

Advertisement:Valentine's Day Celebrations And Gifts For Your Lovely Personality, Save 70.0% on select products from BALEAF with promo code 70FKOUX3, through 1/31 while supplies last.,  Jewellery and Clothes of First Ladies, 

(source:wikipedia)

Barack Obama prioritises business links over politics on first India visit

Barack Obama sought to energise his visit to India today with a spot of Indian folk dancing, after an acknowledgement that his party's defeat in the US midterm elections last week reflected the "right, obligation and duty" of voters to express their unhappiness and a call for his hosts to try to secure peace with Pakistan.

"My hope is that over time, trust develops between the two countries, that dialogue begins, perhaps on less controversial issues, building up to more controversial issues," Obama told a meeting of students at a college in Mumbai on the second day of a four-day visit to India.

A fragile peace process between the hostile neighbours broke down after the 2008 terror attacks in the city.

Obama, whose first stop was in India's financial and commercial capital, signifying his interest in the nation's trillion-dollar economy and America's solidarity with its fight against terrorism, also told students their country "is not just a rising power" but one that "has already risen".

"[The Indian] economy has risen at a breathtaking rate ... we look forward to a greater role for India at the world stage," the president told the students in remarks broadcast live around the country.

Indian diplomats hope Obama will continue George W Bush's policy of looking to Delhi as a counterweight to Beijing. So far, however, American officials and diplomats have appeared more focused on the potential economic gains to both countries of the $10bn (£6bn) business deals that will be sealed during the visit than on geopolitical power plays.

The deals include contracts to build 1,000 locomotives for Indian railways and to supply dozens of passenger jets to private airlines. Aides to the president claim they will create more than 50,000 jobs.

Indian reaction to Obama has so far been positive but muted. "He seems strangely unconvincing. He certainly hasn't connected with the Indian people," Vir Sanghvi, the editor of the Hindustan Times, told the Guardian. "He's got to pull some kind of rabbit out of his hat to make this memorable."

Obama arrived in New Delhi todaywith his wife, Michelle, and was met by the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, who broke with protocol to personally welcome him to the Indian capital. After shaky first steps, Obama, 49, has established good relations with Singh, a 78-year-old former economist who is credited with liberalising the Indian economy in the 1990s.

The Obamas then visited Humayun's Tomb, a spectacular Mughal-era Islamic mausoleum similar in style to the Taj Mahal.

Earlier, asked by a student about "jihad", Obama called Islam a religion of peace, yet one terrorists have sought to distort. "I think all of us have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is a way to mediate our differences," he said. The president also said he still believed a "stable Afghanistan is achievable" and reiterated his intent to begin removing US troops from the country next July.

Tomorrow, Obama will address both houses of India's parliament. Members have been told to behave in "a dignified manner" during the speech to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes He will leave for Indonesia on Tuesday then travel to South Korea for a G20 meeting in Seoul.

(source:guardian.co.uk)

President Obama urges India-Pakistan dialogue

MUMBAI, India — President Barack Obama encouraged a progressive dialogue between India and Pakistan on Sunday and told college students at a town hall here that their country has a vested interest in the success of its neighbor despite a long history of mistrust between the two nations.

“I’m absolutely convinced that the country that has the biggest stake in Pakistan’s success is India,” Obama said in response to a question during the event at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. “I think if Pakistan is unstable, that’s bad for India. If Pakistan is stable and prosperous, that is good.

“Because it is unmovable,” he stressed.

Obama, who is expected to expand on his views of India-Pakistan relations in a speech to India’s Parliament on Monday, said relations with Pakistan are particularly crucial at a time when India is emerging as an economic power.

“So my hope is that over time trust develops between the two countries, that dialogue begins perhaps on less controversial issues building up to more controversial issues and that over time there’s a recognition that India and Pakistan can live side by side in peace,” he said as he walked around a stage set in an outdoor courtyard.

The president also faced a question about the changes in his political fortunes back in Washington after the midterm elections and told the students he will have to “make some midcourse corrections.”

“My obligation is to make sure that I stick to the principles and beliefs and ideas that will move America forward,” Obama said, citing investments in education, infrastructure and clean energy. “But it also requires me to make some midcourse corrections and adjustments.”

The president did not elaborate on what those adjustments might be. But he said “how those play out” over the next few months will depend on his meetings with Republicans, who won control of the House and gained seats in the Senate in last Tuesday’s elections.

(source:politico.com)