Queen Elizabeth honors president of foundation

Queen Elizabeth honorspresident of foundation
NEW YORK -- John Jay Iselin, former president of WNET and president of the Marconi fellowship foundation at Columbia University, has been recognized by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to British television in the United States.
Sir Thomas Harris, the British consul general, said Friday that the queen made the announcement Thursday and that Iselin would receive the honorary CBE in Washington on June 9.
CBE stands for Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order founded in 1917 by King George V to recognize service by civilians in World War I. The order now honors civilians and military personnel.
Iselin brought programs like "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Pride and Prejudice" to WNET while its president from 1972-87 and teamed with British production units to launch the "Nature" series.
Iselin called the honor "a tribute to broadcasting of a high order that is truly the work of many hands in a collaborative effort."
Iselin is president of the Guglielmo Marconi International Fellowship Foundation at Columbia and served for 20 years on the board of the American Friends of Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall scholar. He is an adjunct professor in Columbia's School of Journalism.
At Cornell, Clinton urgespursuit of democracy
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Former President Clinton challenged graduating Cornell University students Saturday to pursue "the eternal mission of American democracy" and find solutions to problems through cooperation not conflict.
"If you live in a world where you cannot kill, occupy or imprison all your actual or potential adversaries ... you have to try to build a world with more friends and fewer terrorists," Clinton told more than 21,000 people.
"That is the purpose of politics, to bring people together when they cannot control each other and they must work together," Clinton said in a 30-minute speech interrupted by frequent applause.
The former president's remarks appeared to be aimed at the Bush administration, which ordered the U.S. invasion of Iraq last year without United Nations backing, though Clinton never mentioned Bush.
He also said the country was at another turning point as Americans grapple over how the United States should use its present moment of unrivaled military, economic and political superiority.
"The great power of the United States through history has not been in our weapons but in the power of our example, and the hope we have held out to others," he said.
Hear news? Benatar shillshearing-aid batteries
ST. LOUIS -- Energizer Holdings Inc. is appealing to the rock 'n' roll sensibilities of baby boomers by enlisting 1980s rocker Pat Benatar to boost sales of hearing-aid batteries.
"Our generation has helped shape American culture, especially since we're the first to be raised on rock 'n' roll," Benatar says in a brochure for Energizer's new marketing campaign, "It's Hip to Hear."
"From Aerosmith to the Rolling Stones, our music defines us, but all those years of rockin' are beginning to take a toll," she says.
Minibatteries used in hearing aids are just 8 percent of Energizer's total sales, but the St. Louis-based company sees a potentially huge growth market, said Ernie Petrus, director of sales and marketing for Energizer Miniature Batteries.
Benatar, 51, does not need a hearing aid, but Energizer is betting that she will break the stereotype associated with wearing one, Petrus told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Friday's editions.
Matt Thornhill, founder of the Boomer Project, a Richmond, Va.-based consulting firm that helps companies reach the over-50 market, said Energizer's choice of Benatar is "fabulous."
"Boomers buy eyeglasses by the tens of thousands," Thornhill said. "As they start to lose their hearing, I don't think they'll have a reluctance to [buy] hearing aids."
Benatar is known for such hits as "Love Is a Battlefield," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Invincible."
Today's birthdays
Country musician Johnny Gimble is 78. Actor Clint Walker is 77. Actor Keir Dullea is 68. Actress Ruta Lee is 68. Actor Michael J. Pollard is 65. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 53. Actor Colm Meaney is 51. Actor Ted McGinley is 46. Actor Ralph Carter is 43. Actress Tonya Pinkins is 42. Country singer Wynonna is 40. Rock musician Tom Morello (Audioslave) is 40. Rock musician Patrick Dahlheimer (Live) is 33. Actor Trey Parker is 32. Rapper Cee-Lo is 30. Actor Blake Bashoff is 23.