Obama Ends War In Iraq

*In a televised address to the nation from the Oval Office, the president said America had paid a huge price for the war begun by George W. Bush to topple Saddam Hussein.

"Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," he said.

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the restoration of sovereignty to Iraq: "Iraq today is sovereign and independent. With the execution of the troop pullout, our relations with the United States have entered a new stage between two equal, sovereign countries."

A ceremony is to be held in Baghdad today, attended by the US vice-president, Joe Biden, and Maliki, to mark the handover of responsibility for military operations from the US to Iraqi forces. Obama, whose early opposition to the invasion helped propel his White House candidacy, presented last night as the near-fulfilment of a key 2008 presidential election campaign pledge to end the war.

"This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office. Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq's security forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done," he said.

The number of US troops in Iraq has dropped from a high of 170,000 in 2007 to 50,000, whose mission changes from today from combat to assisting the Iraqi army. All 50,000 are scheduled to leave by the end of next year, unless the Iraqi government requests a few hundred or few thousand remain behind.

Around 1.5 million US men and women served in a war the Pentagon in 2003 had promised Bush would be short. There were 4,400 US fatalities, and an Iraqi death toll estimated at 100,000 to several hundreds of thousands. The US had 3.4m pieces of equipment in Iraq last year. That is down to 1.2m now, with bases reduced from 357 to 94.

It was only the second time that Obama has delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, the first when he promised to deal with the BP oil spill in the Gulf.*

*Source: Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian

Steve Jobs Announces New Ipod Line Up...

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has just announced the new line up for Apple's hit selling Ipod media player's future generation earlier today.

*The iPod Touch, Apple's high-end media player and Internet device, received many of the components of the iPhone 4, including a high-resolution "retina" screen, a powerful A4 processor, two cameras and the ability to run FaceTime, Apple's mobile video chat service.

The iPod Nano, meanwhile, was shrunk down and given a petite 1.7-inch screen and small square enclosure. The device has lost the click wheel and the video playing and capture features of its predecessor but gains multi-touch input.

The smallest iPod, the Shuffle, reverted to its previous square form with buttons after a short time in which the device was sold in a tiny body without any buttons.

"This is the biggest change in the iPod lineup ever," Jobs said.

The iPod Touch will sell for $229, $299 and $399 for 8, 32 and 64 gigabyte versions while the iPod Nano will sell for $149 and $179 for 8GB and 16GB models. The iPod Shuffle will sell for $49 for a 2GB unit. All of the units will go on sale next week.*

It looks like media junkies and techies alike have a lot to look forward to with Apple's new futuristic marriage about to take place.

*Source: Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

Brody Jenner's Birthday Bash

When most people are ready to call it a night after a long night of birthday fun, Brody Jenner knows how to keep his birthday party going long after the lights turn on.

MTV's The Hills reality star let the party people know it was his birthday and they could keep partying if they wanted to.

I will say, Brody is cool in person and definitely knows how to have a good time.

Brody's good friend Frankie Delgado was in the mix as well ready to up the ante if Brody ever felt the need to tap out.

With those two at any party, I guarantee that won't happen.

*photos courtesy of ISH for J Public Relations and Encore Entertainment

Kanye West - Monster

Looks like Kanye West is making G.O.O.D. on his promise to drop a new song each week. The latest weekly release is Monster featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj.

I'm really feeling this song because its a collaboration of the hottest artists on a hot track. No egos, just good music amongst peers.

Monster is 1 of 5 songs from Kanye West and Jay-z's forthcoming joint album called Watch The Throne.

I can't wait to hear more material.

Anyway, check out the new song courtesy of Kanye West

Kanye West - Monster feat Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver

*Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

*sidenote: I love Kanye's Napoleon Dynamite reference...GOSSSH!

Lucky 7 Playboy Mansion PreParty

A List Television Host Eric Edwards was on hand to cover the pre-party to the Lucky 7 Playboy Mansion party hosted by Party For A Purpose.

The 7th annual Lucky 7 party started off at the Century City Plaza Hyatt Hotel and then a shuttle bus was taken to migrate the patrons to the disclosed location otherwise known as the Playboy Mansion.

Hugh Hefner himself was on hand to accept a thank you award from Party For A Purpose for allowing the notable charity to host the annual event at the mansion the past 7 years.

Thanks to Eric Edwards, I got a chance to experience the Mansion as a guest and not a working photographer which was awesome.

I will say if you ever get a chance to go to the mansion, thank your Lucky 7 stars because it is truly an "experience"!!

*photos courtesy of ISH for www.alistproductions.tv

Johnny Drama @ Stingaree

This past Friday, the birthday boy Kevin Dillon graced Stingaree with his presence along with the Ora of his Entourage persona Johnny Drama by greeting fans and shaking hands.

Dillon arrived in style stepping out a similar old school Lincoln Continental just like the one Dillon's Entourage character Johnny Drama drives around Hollywood on the show.

The night made for a pretty spectacular escapade as some of the ladies couldn't keep their hands to themselves.

I always get a kick out of photographing celebrities when they come to San Diego because it always seems to bring the element of Hollywood a step closer to reality.

*photos courtesy of ISH for J Public Relations

P5...

Before I say anything, I have to say good things don't necessarily come to those who wait, but great things definitely come to those who have P5!

Passion, persistence, patience, perseverance and being proactive.

Many of those that know me, might know I am #teamblackberry and have been for some time.

At one point in time on a whim, I actually emailed blackberry.com's "contact us" page in order to CREATE a promotional job for myself in Southern California for how I represent my "crackberry" to the fullest.

Thinking I would never get a response, I kept on doing my day to day business, and to my surprise I did eventually get a response email saying in a nutshell, thanks but move to Canada*, fill out the online application and don't call us we will call you. HA!

At that time, for me to even getting any response email was a dream come true.

Fast forward 3 years later with the explosion of social networking taking over, I of course was all about blasting to everyone in my network that #teamblackberry was the way to go.

I guess I didn't have to go to Canada, because Canada came to me, via Internet.

I was honored to receive an invite to test out new blackberry software before it hit the masses. SCORE! Think big, work efficiently, and keep it pushing is my motto for accomplishing dreams.

Well, this next feat was a dream come true for sure. After a few months of testing different software and giving my personal feedback, I received another email to test out the NEWEST Blackberry on the market, The Blackberry Torch.

Research In Motion the company that makes Blackberry Devices has provided me with a new Blackberry to Test out and believe me this product is indeed the truth, literally.

I have been using a Blackberry since Operating System 4.1 and now to be honored with the privilege of testing out the newest system 6.0 and the newest mobile device is amazing.

For those that are not tech savvy, imagine eating shrimp a la carte every day, loving it to the fullest and then some magic voice saying, "here you go, have some some vegetables, Steak and your favorite beverage."

You would probably jump for joy! Well, that's what RIM providing 6.0 does for me.

Anyway, everyday I continue to realize, no matter how big or small, if you have a passion, don't give up on your dreams and continue to strive for achievement.

Your hard work and dedication will eventually pay off.

Now, since we are talking about following dreams, how about RIM or Blackberry hire Ivan S. Harris Photography to photograph one of those Fancy Blackberry release parties hosted by Drake?

One can only dream right? Well, with my new Torch provided by RIM, I'm definitely onto a good start.

Blackberry Torch Release Party Red Carpet Hosted By Drake

*RIM is a Canadian based company
*video courtesy of www.crackberry.com

My Blackberry Torch Pics posted on Facebook Mobile

Lesson Learned...

I think I have been going about this all wrong. I used to say if you have money, you can get out of any kind of sticky situation you get your self in. But that statement has to be fictitious hence, Lil Wayne, T.I. and Michael Vick all doing at least a year bid in the big house.

After some light research, it seems that only certain situations determine a negative outlook on the public view of celebrities. i.e. if you are a CERTAIN celebrity with money you can get out of any situation you get yourself in.

For instance, if a certain celebrity does "this type of crime" then that's okay, but if that celebrity does "THAT type of crime" its horrific and you are the earth's scum.

Besides the obvious heinous crimes like killing, cheating, stealing etc., the ironic part to this is an on going phenomenon: who really determines what crime is actually considered horrific?

Hmmm...it also seems that having money may tend to help a little but does not determine the overall image of particular celebrity.

Maybe its based on HOW MUCH more money a celebrity has amongst her/his celebrity peers and how much that particular crowd liked the celebrity before the downfall?

My point is society chooses who they want to play the bad guy for the time being.

(Its kind of like professional wrestling, when the star wants to play the heel and the heel wants to play the fan favorite for a while until they switch sides!)

Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but I'm saying celebrities almost have the ability and power to choose which side they want to be on. Almost.

Obviously, these rules don't apply to regular people like "us" because if "we" did any of these crimes that the celebrities did, we would probably end up being under the jail so I am definitely not comparing us to them.

Let's at least state the facts. Lindsay Lohan is a talented, successful actress who grew up in front of our very eyes. She's adorable, she can't do any wrong. Can she? Well, just like most celebrities, Lindsay Lohan is also a troubled person with repeated run ins with the law.

I know everyone deserves a second chance, but it is what you do with your second chance that determines your true character.

Before I get any deeper, I have a few questions to ask. First, how did Lindsay get out of her jail time early? Then, how did she get out of rehab early?

And how did she get her license back so soon after getting a DUI and alluding the DUI and court situation for nearly three years? And last but not least, why after all the drama is she once again "tweeting" that she's driving while texting?

Say what you will, certain stars are more privileged than others. And society determines the the true outcome of how celebrities will fair in the public eye.

I on the other hand am not a judge, but a journalist stating facts and raising awareness through photograph documentation.

All I can say is, every single person INCLUDING ME, has to learn his/her lesson on his/her own terms, in his/her pace and in his/her own specific circumstances.

I always equate learning a lesson to the first time your parents told you not to touch that hot pot on the stove and you touched it anyway only to learn the hard way that, yes... it was hot.

Sometimes that pot tends to be a little hotter for some than others.

I know I will probably get stoned by some, but this site is dedicated to erasing the hype and uncovering the truth so this is my last question to raise awareness:

Why is it okay for Lindsay Lohan to continuously mock the law by writing F#@# YOU on her fingernails while in court, drinking and driving, texting while driving and all kinds of things that could potentially endanger HUMAN lives and no one say anything negative, but Michael Vick, who funded an underground DOG Fighting ring, PAID his debt to society with fines, classes and jail time, is still considered a nuisance and frowned upon in society?

Like I said, I'm not judging either person, they both did crimes, and I'm definitely not sayin one is worse than the other, I am merely asking questions to raise awareness. And anyway, I know there are way more important things going on in the world but I did have to ask...

Stop Selling Dreams...

RIP Aaliyah

9 Years ago today, the entertainment industry lost an angel. Aaliyah Dana Haughton passed away at the tender age of 22. I can only imagine how life would be if Aaliyah was still here to bless us with her presence, gift and love.

My only way to make sense of this tragic loss is to say that everything happens for a reason and the positive outlook is that she will always have a lasting impression on most if not all of our hearts.

I realize some people may not even be old enough to remember Aaliyah or her music, but to me she was more than just a star, an excellent singer or my favorite celebrity, she was a beacon of light I used to continue to search for the good in people.

Even though her death was a tragic loss, Aaliyah can and always will remain in our thoughts, prayers and hearts through her work i.e. films, music and her timeless, beautiful photographs.

RIP Aaliyah Dana Haughton

January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001

Aaliyah - Miss You

Snoop Dogg - Luv Drunk featuring The Dream & Landy Cognac

I do have to say Luv Drunk is my favorite song on Snoop Dogg's latest album Malice N Wonderland, so when I found out there were new visuals for this video, I had to post it.

On a random side note, it seems every time I go to the bank, this song magically comes on...maybe its trying to tell me something?

And while I am already overanalyzing everything, this new video makes me think Kanye West may have started a new trend.

Anyway, check out the new video Luv Drunk by Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg - Luv Drunk featuring The-Dream & Landy Cognac

*video courtesy of www.Worldstarhiphop.com