SINBAD TO HILLARY: ‘WHAT SNIPER FIRE?’: Comic says Clinton is exaggerating Bosnia trip.
*The last time Sinbad was suddenly deluged with phone calls from the media, he was the victim of an Internet death rumor. In this latest press attack, the comedian is being asked about a 1996 Bosnia trip that he took with then First Lady Hillary Clinton.
As part of her current White House run, Clinton spoke about the experience during a late December campaign appearance in Iowa, and again on March 17 at a speech at George Washington University.
Attempting to boost her claim that she has more overseas experience than her Democratic rival Barack Obama, she described her March 25, 1996 landing at Tuzla International Airport in the following manner: “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”
Sinbad, who was on the Bosnia trip along with singer Sheryl Crow, says Clinton is putting way too much on the situation. He says the trip was a USO tour to boost troop morale. In an interview with the Sleuth Monday, he said the “scariest” part of the trip was wondering where he’d eat next. “I think the only ‘red-phone’ moment was: ‘Do we eat here or at the next place.’”
As for Clinton’s claim of landing in “sniper fire,” Sinbad says he doesn’t remember that, either.
“I never felt that I was in a dangerous position. I never felt being in a sense of peril, or ‘Oh, God, I hope I’m going to be OK when I get out of this helicopter or when I get out of this tank.’”
In her Iowa stump speech, Clinton also said: “We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady.”

eurweb.com

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News)- Lainie Kazan vividly recalls her very first San Francisco gig. It was in 1967. She left the Broadway run of “Funny Girl,” where she was Barbra Streisand’s understudy, and boldly took the stage at the legendary nightclub the hungry i.
“My paycheck bounced,” Kazan recalls, laughing. “But it was the beginning of my new life and career. My very first home was on a houseboat in Sausalito and Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 were there in the community. I loved San Francisco.”
The City loved her too; she played the Fairmont’s Venetian Room for many years. “I was there during all the walk-ins and sit-ins and all the ‘ins’,’” she says.
Kazan reclaims her local cabaret roots Tuesday with a six-night stint at the new Rrazz Room in Hotel Nikko.
Known for commanding, soul-stirring vocals, Kazan’s new show offers a wide breadth of material, including several songs from Harold Arlen (“It’s Only A Paper Moon,” “Stormy Weather”). “I love his music,” she says of the revered composer, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2005. “I think he’s created some of the greatest contemporary music — very bluesy; very blues in the night.”
It’s hard to imagine Kazan doing anything other than singing, which is her first love, but she’s first to admit how quickly the show biz currents can move a career in different directions.
After overseeing cabaret lounges in New York and Los Angeles, memorable turns on “The Dean Martin Show” showcased Kazan’s comedic depth. Film and TV roles arrived, some of them from unconventional waters — “My Favorite Year, “Lust in the Dust,” “Delta Force,” “The Nanny.”
But it wasn’t until she portrayed the matriarch in the 2002 blockbuster “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” that Kazan found her celebrity soaring again.

examiner.com