Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/JSMDF0-APVg/
the stand winston churchill winston churchill arkham city conjugated linoleic acid world series schedule apple earnings
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Virgin Diaries Video: Bad Kissing Goes Viral!
The Virgin Diaries video has gone completely viral and after watching it, you can clearly see why. This couple has a long road ahead. I don?t get it, sure save yourself for marriage, but KISSING. What is a kiss going to hurt? This video for TLC?s new show The Virgin Diaries shows how it will hurt if you don?t get some lip practice in before hand. This couple has some work to do. Even the parents cringe at the awful kiss. I mean practice on a stuffed animal or something!!! On the youtube thread, one person sums it up completely: You know that feeling when you watch_ something so embarrassing you get embarrassed? Yea – totally happened to me. I almost couldn?t watch! I mean they look like two woodpeckers! I hope their wedding night went better cause this looks like it may have been embarrassingly painful lol. The Virgin Diaries is based on an MTV UK show where English teens “between the ages of 16 and 18 contemplate sex, sexuality and their own virginity.” The American version features adult virgins from “late bloomers” to a couple who saved themselves for their wedding night. Oh, well this is something I [...]
Reproduction of carpet impresses fans of Swedish Institute - Finance ...
Posted: 7:45 am Mon, November 28, 2011
By ?BRIAN JOHNSON
Tags: American Swedish Institute, Bruce Karstadt, Swan Turnblad
New carpeting is a replica of the original carpeting installed in the mansion.
Thanks in part to a bit of foresight from previous building caretakers, Swan Turnblad?s former home looks more like its old self again.
Earlier this month, in the first phase of a $21.5 million renovation and expansion project, the American Swedish Institute completed a makeover of the 103-year-old Turnblad Mansion, the institute?s longtime home at 26th Street and Park Avenue in Minneapolis.
Still in progress is a 34,000-square-foot addition that will link up with the existing 33-room French Chateau mansion.
From a renovation standpoint, the institute set out to restore the mansion to its ?near original? condition from the floor to the ceiling. As part of that effort, workers installed a custom-made replica of the original carpet that covered the grand hall floor, staircase, landing and second-floor balcony.
A good match for the long-gone carpet was possible because some remnants of the original rug were still around.
?When it was pulled up 40, 50 years ago, the people in charge of the institute at the time had the prescience to save several samples of the original carpet,? said Bruce Karstadt, president and chief executive officer of the American Swedish Institute.
The samples were turned over to Aubrey Angelo Inc., a Minneapolis-based provider of custom-made rugs and carpets, which worked with the American Swedish Institute to create a fitting replica.
?Pardon the expression,? Karstadt said, but the accurate reproduction ?floored a lot of people.?
Karstadt said about 1,500 people showed up for a Nov. 19 event in the recently reopened mansion, which made a mycket bra (very good) impression on the guests.
?Everyone is thrilled with the results and impressed by the new facility,? he said. ?There is still a punch list of things that have to be done ? but those are minor aesthetic issues that are being attended to quickly.?
The project has been a long time coming for the American Swedish Institute, which has worked on various expansion and renovation plans since 2000. Its current plan has been in the works for about five years.
Fundraising for the project has been challenging amid the slow economy, but Karstadt told Finance & Commerce last spring that donations have come from ?all different parts of the U.S.? and Sweden. The institute?s website says $11 million in donations and pledges have been raised so far.
In addition to the carpeting, the restoration included restroom upgrades, new classrooms, remodeled meeting space and the construction of the new Hognander Tower, which includes a full-size elevator and stairway.
In the lower-level gallery space, crews uncovered and restored another long-hidden treasure: the original plaster ceiling.
?When we pulled back the suspended ceiling, we discovered that the original plaster was in good shape, so we were able to restore it to near original condition,? Karstadt said. ?It defines a very nice gallery space in the lower level.?
Future plans include the restoration of the mansion?s vintage kitchen, a project that will be expedited with help from a $90,000 grant for a second-place finish in a recent National Trust for Historic Preservation competition.
Meanwhile, the addition on the south side of the building is quickly taking shape. The goal is to have the structure fully enclosed before winter sets in, Karstadt said.
The project, led by St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson and Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers, will be a candidate for a high level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, Karstadt said.
A geothermal heating and cooling system and a green roof will help make that possible. Crews have drilled 92 geothermal wells reaching 260 feet into the ground, and a deck system is being installed for a rooftop garden.
Turnblad, a Swedish immigrant and newspaper publisher, lived in the mansion with his wife, Christina, and daughter, Lillian. He founded the American Swedish Institute in 1929, according to the institute?s website.
The addition, which will house an event center, meeting rooms, a caf? and other attractions, is on track for completion in June. The project is tracked via webcam here.
Source: http://finance-commerce.com/2011/11/reproduction-of-carpet-impresses-fans-of-swedish-institute/
northern lights maksim chmerkovskiy aurora borealis s.978 larry ellison go ask alice go ask alice
Portable Dolly Track Adds Anywhere Movement To Your Smartphone Movie Magic [Video]
pumpkin seeds mark herzlich malawi malawi angela davis angela davis zombie apocalypse
5 Tech Items to Add to Your Nursery
Celeb designer Courtney Cachet gives us her top tech picks for your nursery.
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/YTBPRmcJHqA/
steve wozniak steve wozniak legarrette blount pharrell pharrell kellie pickler silver bullet
HBT: Yankees probably won't go after Wilson
There has been less-than-tepid interest from the Yankees in C.J. Wilson. Like, almost zero. That doesn?t necessarily mean everything, of course, as the Yankees have been known to lay kinda low until they just come in and sign someone, but today ESPN New York?s Andrew Marchand says that?there is ?almost no way? the Yankees sign C.J. Wilson this offseason.
And why should they? C.J. Wilson wants $100 million. Even if it?s affordable for the Yankees, how advisable is it? He?s good, no doubt. But the Yankees had a lot of success last year filling three rotation spots with cheap guys, so why should they throw nine figures at someone?
Wilson is going to meet with the Marlins today, so they can have yet another guy who they are going to pretend to sign. ?But whatever happens there, his future doesn?t look to be in New York.
john lackey john lackey ed lee ed lee garmin nuvi 1450 amzn tommy john surgery
US vows full probe into Pakistan border incident (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration on Saturday pledged a full investigation into a NATO attack that allegedly killed 24 Pakistani troops.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a joint statement offered their "deepest condolences" for the loss of life in the cross-border incident in Pakistan. Clinton and Panetta also said they "support fully NATO's intention to investigate immediately."
Secretary Clinton, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. John Allen, commander of the NATO-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, each called their Pakistani counterparts as well, the statement said.
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter also met with Pakistani government officials in Islamabad.
"In their contacts, these US diplomatic and military leaders each stressed -- in addition to their sympathies and a commitment to review the circumstances of the incident -- the importance of the US-Pakistani partnership, which serves the mutual interests of our people," the statement said.
"All these leaders pledged to remain in close contact with their Pakistani counterparts going forward as we work through this challenging time," the statement concluded.
The incident was a major blow to American efforts to rebuild an already tattered alliance vital to winding down the 10-year-old Afghan war. It was the latest in a series of setbacks to the alliance, often caused by border incidents.
Islamabad called the bloodshed in one of its tribal areas a "grave infringement" of the country's sovereignty.
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest friendly fire incident by NATO against Pakistani troops since the Afghan war began a decade ago.
A NATO spokesman said it was likely that coalition airstrikes caused Pakistani casualties, but an investigation was being conducted to determine the details.
The relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has severely deteriorated over the last year, especially following the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May. Islamabad was outraged it wasn't told about the operation beforehand.
The border issue is a major source of tension between Islamabad and Washington, which is committed to withdrawing its combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Much of the violence in Afghanistan is carried out by insurgents who are based just across the border in Pakistan. Coalition forces are not allowed to cross the frontier to attack the militants. However, the militants sometimes fire artillery and rockets across the line, reportedly from locations close to Pakistani army posts.
zanesville google ice cream sandwich google ice cream sandwich soulja boy jason campbell android ice cream sandwich shia labeouf
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Vaccine prototype stronger than traditional vaccines
ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2011) ? Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) researchers have created a vaccine that is more potent than traditional vaccines available today. The glycoconjugate vaccine prototype is 100 times more effective than traditional glycoconjugate vaccines. Their work is published in the December 2011 issue of Nature Medicine.
A glycoconjugate vaccine is composed of covalently bound carbohydrate and protein molecules, and is the standard design for many vaccines used to protect against common diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis.
Researchers designed the vaccine prototype after discovering that immune cells, called T-cells, can recognize a vaccine's carbohydrates, and from that recognition elicit an immune response. This discovery challenges popular assumptions that immune cells only recognize the protein portion of glycoconjugate vaccines.
Proof that T-cells recognize carbohydrates came when researchers immunized mice with different types of glycoconjugate vaccines against the bacteria, group B Streptococcus. One group was immunized with vaccines containing different proteins. Another group was immunized with vaccines with the same proteins. For both groups, the carbohydrate chain in the vaccines was the same.
Researchers saw that mice given the vaccines with different proteins had just as good an immune response as those given vaccines with the same proteins-the variability in proteins did not change immune response. This told researchers that T-cells were recognizing carbohydrates to generate a consistent immune response. They further investigated the mechanisms responsible for how carbohydrate-containing glycoconjugate vaccines activate protective immunity to a bacterial infection.
"One thing that is tremendously novel here is that we were able to find T-cells within a mouse after immunization with a glycoconjugate [vaccine] that just recognized carbohydrates," said Dennis L. Kasper, MD, director of BWH's Channing Laboratory. "So these may be the first true carbohydrate-specific T-cells found."
The understanding that it was not only proteins, but also carbohydrates that were being recognized by cells led researchers to design a vaccine that yielded many carbohydrate particles when processed by the immune system-in turn creating a vaccine that generated a stronger immune response. Researchers believe that the more effective vaccine prototype they designed may one day assist in protecting high-risk populations susceptible of disease.
"For example, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are good in children, but are not effective in protecting the elderly," explained Kasper. So we are hopeful that by designing vaccines like this, you'll make better vaccines that will be effective in all the at-risk populations."
Fikri Avci, PhD, lead study author and instructor in the Department of Medicine at BWH and Harvard Medical School adds that the findings on how the body's immune cells interact with carbohydrates will also lead to more effective vaccines in the future.
"Carbohydrates are among the most abundant and structurally diverse molecules in nature," said Avci. "They are extremely important in many biological functions. A better understanding of carbohydrate interaction is crucial. We are hoping that our findings will provide a framework for production of new-generation therapeutics and preventive medicines not only against bacterial infections, but also for cancer and viral diseases."
The research was supported by grants from the United States National Institutes of Health.
Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Fikri Y Avci, Xiangming Li, Moriya Tsuji, Dennis L Kasper. A mechanism for glycoconjugate vaccine activation of the adaptive immune system and its implications for vaccine design. Nature Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/nm.2535
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111128132714.htm
st louis weather kryptos student loan forgiveness amy winehouse cause of death amy winehouse cause of death white witch white witch
Get into geeky gifts that glow
Black Light World
Uranium marbles glow with a greenish hue under ultraviolet light, but they're said to be safe — despite the radioactive sticker on the container.
By Alan Boyle
Glow-in-the-dark uranium marbles have emerged as the top Science Geek Gift of 2011, but you don't have to go radioactive to get that greenish glow.
To be sure, there's something slightly subversive about marbles that are slightly radioactive.? "Definitely geeky, but non-geeks would also love them because they glow and have a risk factor appeal," one commenter wrote.
That's probably a big reason why the suggestion from Richard-1971294?won out over Joel Davis' Star Trek pizza cutter in this year's 10th annual Science Geek Gift roundup.
The totally unscientific?tally was close: The margin of victory was less than 50 votes out of more than 3,000 cast. But the green glow of victory means that Richard is eligible to receive a pile of geek-friendly books, including?"The Cult of Lego," "Science Ink," "The Physics Book" and "The Case for Pluto."?Because Joel came so close, I'm sending him an autographed copy of "The Case for Pluto" as well.
Now, about that uranium: In the old days, pigments containing uranium used to be found in things ranging from ceramic tiles to dinnerware?and glassware. Today, uranium isn't used as a coloring agent, but probably not for the reason you'd suppose. Natural, unprocessed?uranium isn't all that radioactive ??but because it's?a heavy metal, it's as toxic as lead. And we all know what happened to lead paint. On the Health Physics Society website, Washington State University's Ron Kathren says "chemical toxicity is the overriding consideration" when it comes to limiting the use of?natural uranium.
Uranium marbles, which glow green under ultraviolet light,?are still available from Black Light World as well as eBay vendors. If you're?serious about?the nuclear option?? for example, in the form of a spinthariscope toy or a chunk of trinitite ? you'll want to check out United Nuclear's wares?as well.
A healthier glow
The health risks of radioactive inks and paints have been known since the 1920s, due to the?illnesses suffered by the "Radium Girls" who painted the dials on glow-in-the-dark watches.?Today, few manufactured items make use of radioluminescence, which involves converting radioactive emissions into visible light. (Exceptions include some types of watch dials, keychains and gunsights that?glow due to?paints containing tritium or promethium rather than radium.) Virtually all of the glow-in-the-dark items you see today take advantage of electroluminescence, chemiluminescence or photoluminescence.
Electroluminescence?is?behind?the greenish glow in pushbutton timepieces such as Timex's Indiglo line. Chemiluminescence relies on a chemical process ? for example, the mixing of chemicals in a glow stick. Photoluminescence involves "charging up" a chemically treated?object such as a glow-in-the-dark Godzilla by shining a light on it.
The key substances in?most glow-in-the-dark items are phosphors, chemical compounds that are good at?taking in?energy and emitting it as light. Zinc sulfide and strontium aluminate are the most commonly used glow-in-the-dark ingredients, and new glow-in-the-dark compounds continue to be developed. They're relatively safe: That's why you see so many kids' toys that glow in the dark, as well as these geekier items:
You can?set your own?environment?aglow?with phosphorescent?paint from ThinkGeek or United Nuclear. For the final frontier in glow-in-the-dark geekery, check out this ghostly green space shuttle?at MakerBot's website. If it's bioluminescence you're into, GloFish has been offering fluorescent fish for years, but?don't look for glowing kittens?or puppies?to enter the market anytime soon.?In fact, ethical debates over genetically altered organisms like?glow-in-the-dark zebrafish?have been raging for years. The?prudent?product for your kids?might be a glow-in-the-dark?coloring book?that?teaches them?about totally natural bioluminescence.
Speaking of bioluminescence...
Previous Science Geek Gift Guides:
More science gifts:
You don't need to buy me a present. All I ask is that you connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/28/9054712-get-into-geeky-gifts-that-glow
black friday deals molokai molokai ashton kutcher twitter sandusky barbados raiders chargers
Iranian protesters enter UK compound in Tehran (Reuters)
TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iranian protesters stormed the British Embassy compound in Tehran on Tuesday, smashing windows and burning the British flag during a rally to protest against sanctions imposed by Britain, live Iranian television showed.
Protesters threw petrol bombs and one waved a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth apparently found inside the compound, the state TV showed.
The semi-official Mehr news agency said protesters pulled down the British flag, burned it, and put up the Iranian flag.
The incident followed Britain's imposition of new sanctions on the Islamic state last week over its nuclear program.
London banned all British financial institutions from doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, as part of a new wave of sanctions by Western countries.
Iran's Guardian Council approved a bill on Monday to downgrade Iran's ties with Britain, one day after the Iranian parliament approved the measure compelling the government to expel the British ambassador in retaliation for the sanctions.
In parliament in Tehran on Sunday, a lawmaker warned that Iranians angered by the sanctions could storm the British embassy as they did to the U.S. mission in 1979.
(Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Angus MacSwan)
itunes match walmart black friday 2011 walmart black friday 2011 packers vikings bob costas jerry sandusky chelsea clinton kat von d
Monday, November 28, 2011
Report: Shoppers unfazed as man dies at Target
By NBC News and msnbc.com staff
Family and friends were stunned by the loss of a West Virginia man who died while shopping on Black Friday as fellow bargain hunters reportedly walked around?? and even over?? the man?s body.
Family members told WSAZ-TV that 61-year-old Walter Vance of Logan County, W. Va., had become ill and collapsed while shopping for Christmas decorations inside Target in South Charleston. He later died after being taken to the hospital, family said.
Witnesses told the NBC News affiliate in Charleston, W. Wa., that shoppers walked around and even over Vance?s body.
"Where is the good Samaritan side of people?? Vance?s co-worker and friend Sue Compton told WSAZ. ?How could you not notice someone was in trouble? I just don't understand if people didn't help what their reason was, other than greed because of a sale."
Vance had joined?in the crowded frenzy?of deal seekers?at Target?shortly after midnight on Friday. He had been searching for holiday odds and ends to complete his display at his newly remodeled workplace at Aracoma Drug Company store in Chapman, co-worker Annette Fortune told msnbc.com on Saturday.
?He was so excited about Christmas this year, he wanted everyone to enjoy the holiday he loved so much,? Fortune said.
Vance had been working at the Aracoma Drug Company store since he was 16 and later became its co-owner in the 1970s.
Friends say?Vance?had?been suffering from heart problems for years and had open heart surgery in 2000, but his death came as a shock.
An E.R. nurse who also happened to be shopping at the store?tried to administer CPR. She and an off-duty paramedic tried to help Vance while he was on the floor.
?The world lost a wonderful angel,? co-worker Beth Wright told msnbc.com, adding: ?We lost our best friend and our best boss.?
Efforts by WSAZ and msnbc.com ?to reach Target for a statement was unsuccessful.
The traditional start of the holiday gift shopping frenzy known as Black Friday was welcomed by retailers, but there were reports of scuffles, fist-fits and even gunfire as bargain hunters clashed. NBC News' Kristen Dahlgren reports.
?
Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/26/9035999-report-shoppers-unfazed-as-man-dies-at-target
ohio state football small business saturday small business saturday ndamukong suh ndamukong suh hank baskett beyonce dance for you
Boston Offers Free Metered Parking For Small Business Saturday ...
Boston Parking Meters are free on Small Business Saturday.
BOSTON (AP) ? Boston city officials have offered two hours of free metered parking to encourage people to shop at local businesses during Small Business Saturday.
American Express started the marketing initiative for the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday ? two of the busiest shopping days of the year.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030?s Kim Tunnicliffe reports
U.S. Small Business Administration head Karen Mills was scheduled to join Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at the city?s Roslindale neighborhood Saturday to discuss how shopping at local businesses is critical to the health of the American economy.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030?s Doug Cope reports on Mills? visit
AmEx says a survey shows 89 million consumers plan to ?shop small? on Small Business Saturday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
veterans day 2011 country music awards cnbc debate family circus spanier jorge posada walmart black friday ad
Harvey Weinstein: How Marilyn Monroe Got Her Groove, and How Dad Became Cool
The council of foreign relations is the nickname we have given the weekly meeting between my three very hip, very cool daughters and their very unhip, uncool dad. Once a week, school or business is torpedoed and we meet in a restaurant (I have a fourth daughter, but at 14 months she would destroy any restaurant because she has more destructive moves than Jackie Chan and is way faster).
About a year ago, my mother, their grandmother, the infamous Miriam Weinstein, decided to drop by. Miriam of course, is the one we named Miramax after. By the way, when Disney kept the name Miramax, I always thought my mom was going to take on Michael Eisner. To her threats, Bob and I always said "you can't do that" and she said, "yes I can, I'm right and he's wrong, and that name is synonymous with a certain kind of filmmaking. And your father. And besides, if they take me into custody, I'll get off".
Bob and I replied, "how would you get off?"
"Because I know Bert Fields and David Boies", she replied. That in a nutshell is Miriam. Lest anyone wonder where Bob and I get it from. As the conversation progressed my daughters complained about too much homework they had and how tough their teachers were. Of course I'm on their side and I tell them that I think homework is way overrated.
Then, as the evening ended, Miriam asked me, "why are you making a movie about Marilyn Monroe? Hasn't everything been said on that subject already?" Whereupon, I tell my mom that a number of years ago I had read two books by Colin Clark. Those being The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me and My Week with Marilyn; both books about his experience making the movie when she came to London in 1956 and also detailing his fairytale romance and magical week with her. This all happened because her husband, Arthur Miller had an argument with her and left her in the middle of their honeymoon. As I progressed the story, Miriam was stunned. "I thought there were three main people in her life, the agent, what was his name?", she continued, "oh yeah Johnny Hyde, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller. Who is this Colin Clark?"
I told Mom and the kids that sometimes movies are snapshots of little incidents. Actual moments in time that give you insight into a character. My daughters said dad, you made a movie like that, bringing up The King's Speech, to which I replied, yes, a footnote with giant implications. The story of the king of England who stuttered and overcame his speech impediment. Here, I told my gang, was another snapshot. A beautiful, but mature Marilyn Monroe at age 30, allowing herself to be innocent for once swept away by a younger man. My middle daughter then said, it reminded her of Roman Holiday.
Now in my house, Roman Holiday holds a special place. My daughters have always had a phobia of black and white movies. Black and white to them meant old. In fact, black and white to them meant very old, the kind of movies their dad would watch. The only thing worse than black and white to them was subtitles.
So one night, I said to them that if they could make it through this old movie, I'd take them all to the mall and buy them each a gift at their favorite store. The movie was Roman Holiday. They loved the movie so much they watched it again and gave me a pass at the mall. Of course, Roman Holiday is the story of a young princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, who sneaks out the palace window and has a beautiful night in Rome alongside a dashing American reporter played by Gregory Peck. As I told my daughters the story, I explained that My Week With Marilyn has similarities to Roman Holiday.
I told the girls that I have a weakness for movies about the creative process. They reminded me that Shakespeare in Love was about writing Romeo and Juliet and Finding Neverland explored how Sir James Peter Barrie wrote Peter Pan. Those were the movies they remembered of mine about the creative process. I told them that this new one was about the making of a fun, very clumsy movie, but that the way Colin Clark described making the movie gave you great insight and poked fun at the whole movie process. Sometimes, like a needle to a balloon, I said.
My girls had an idea of who Marilyn Monroe was, but they certainly did not know who Sir Laurence Olivier was. Nor did they have any idea about method acting or classic acting. But I told them the clash provided a lot of comedy in the piece and that the movie had huge laughs and hopefully, if I can convince everybody, maybe a couple of fun musical numbers, too. As I went around the room, looking for a thumbs up, I saw their faces reluctant to give it to me. So I pulled out the trump card. Michelle Williams. Now my girls are lucky enough to know Michelle Williams and they know her daughter too. She is as sweet to my daughters as she is to her own. When a hair colorist had made a mistake on one of the girls, Michelle did an operation worthy of Bond, James Bond, and got it all sorted and fixed. In my house, that made her a folk hero. And that proved to be the closer.
So off we went to London with Simon Curtis directing and David Parfitt producing. We assembled an all-star cast with Kenneth Branagh as Olivier and Dame Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike. We got the effervescent Emma Watson, the charming Dominic Cooper, the dashing Dougray Scott and the vivacious Julia Ormond. To play Colin Clark, we enlisted the tony award winning Eddie Redmayne. In due time, every girl on the set fell in love with. He is an actor of great vulnerability and also panache, both vital requirements to play Colin Clark.
Simon Curtis wanted to immerse the film in reality so we shot it at the locations that it took place in in real life. So Windsor Castle was Windsor Castle. The Aristocratic British School for Boys was Eaton. No one ever gets to film in these locations, yet magic strings were pulled and red tape disappeared. The rumor was that somehow the royal family pulled those strings. In 1956 Marilyn Monroe met the Queen at a royal premiere. You can watch some of this footage on YouTube. They had a wonderful rapport and it was reported in all the British newspapers that they got along famously. The irony of Marilyn meeting the Queen was that they were the same age as the Queen. Imagine, Marilyn in her 80s.
Pinewood Studios was where the original film The Prince and the Showgirl was made and lo and behold Simon arranges for Michelle Williams to have Marilyn Monroe's dressing room. In the film there is a magic moment when Marilyn Monroe comes down to greet the company of players who are making this film. When the door opened to Marilyn/Michelle's dressing room and she came out in a beautiful gown, something very similar to what Marilyn wore, and greeted Kenneth, Toby, Derek, Judi, Dougray, Julia and Eddie, you could hear a pin drop. The applause that you hear in the movie for Marilyn's entrance was just as real for Michelle's entrance as Marilyn. Everyday Michelle performed alchemy to transform into Monroe. Her use of makeup was as splendid as it was detailed. She practiced the voice, the walk, the wiggle, the waddle, the signing and the dancing.
For anybody who loves movies, this is a movie about making movies. We see Colin Clark start to work his way from a lowly third assistant director to finally becoming Laurence Oliver's right hand man on set (later on in life, Clark became a key executive at Olivier's production company and finally a great documentary filmmaker, producer, writer, director and author).
He witnesses Marilyn's fateful argument when Arthur Miller writes in his journal that it is impossible to live with Monroe after only 30 days of marriage. That the paparazzi had rendered him soulless. They fight, she ends up alone.
Colin then tells Marilyn the truth about herself. Through the relationship of making the movie, they become friends and eventually become romantic.
All the comedy that Simon intended to be in the film is there. Watching Kenneth Branagh and Michelle Williams dual of wits is bloody entertaining. Nothing is more satisfying to me than watching an audience reaction to a movie. We screened the final cut of Marilyn to Michelle in Detroit where she was shooting Sam Raimi's Oz when a packed theater erupted into huge laughter, but the best sight was watching Michelle's laughter too.
The finished movie was rated R. A problem for an 8-year-old, a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old. But I decided to take them to the New York Film Festival with their grandmother where My Week With Marilyn was the centerpiece and the film had its official premiere. It had been one year since that dinner at Cipriani when I got the green light to get involved in the film. So there I was, presenting an R-rated movie to my daughters. Much less their grandmother who tends to get rather conservative over things like that. When the lights went down, the magic began and I could hear the laughter and cheers from my girls. Even though they didn't really know who Marilyn Monroe or Laurence Olivier where, they too were laughing at those jokes. The older one whispered Roman Holiday and that from watching this movie she thought that Michelle Williams was a modern day Audrey Hepburn.
Miriam, in her true parlance (even though she'd been told the story ten times), said she had no idea that Marilyn Monroe fell in love with a 23-year-old boy. Then grandma said to her daughters, "you should not be seeing an R-rated movie, you could get in trouble for that".
To this I responded, "don't worry Mom, I know Bert Fields and David Boies too."
As we filed out of the theater, the girls started talking about Marilyn Monroe saying she was a strong independent woman. They said she was smart, funny and determined. They said she had a kind streak in her. That she was misunderstood and that they could feel her warmth.
They said that in the 1950s, when women were just going along with the status quo, she stood out. That she was rebellious, but had a sense of humor about it and was thus very effective.
And then finally, the corker. They said Marilyn Monroe was cool and that as a result, I was kind of cool for making the movie.
The epilogue to the story, is that two weeks ago, Katy Perry saw the film and tweeted about how much she liked it. When I told my girls she wanted to meet me they said, "you're not cool enough to meet Katy Perry," and that they should go in my place. As a father of four daughters, I've learned that COOL is a gift that only comes occasionally, but for a short time, Marilyn Monroe made dad cool.
?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-weinstein/marilyn-monroe-_b_1113982.html
molokai ashton kutcher twitter sandusky barbados raiders chargers latin grammys latin grammys
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Egypt truce holds, protesters plan huge Friday rally (Reuters)
CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian protesters and police observed a truce on Thursday after clashes that killed 39 people in five days, but activists said they would intensify pressure for an end to army rule with a mass rally on Friday.
The ruling army council again promised that parliamentary elections would start on time next week. It said earlier it would speed up the timetable for a handover from military to civilian presidential rule.
Demonstrations by thousands of Egyptians frustrated with military rule have led to violent clashes with police in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square, in scenes reminiscent of the popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February.
"The people demand the execution of the marshal," crowds chanted, referring to army chief Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.
In a communique, protesters called a million-man march on "the Friday of the last chance" to back demands for an immediate transfer to civilian rule via a national salvation government.
The Egyptian Independent Trade Union Federation called for a workers' march to Tahrir. Another labor rights group called for a general strike to back the protests. Labor unions played an important role in the movement that toppled Mubarak.
The heads of two political parties who took part in a meeting with the military council on Tuesday said they now regretted attending and apologized to the protesters in Tahrir.
The demonstrations appear to have polarized Egyptians, many of whom worry that unrest will prolong economic stagnation.
Supporters of the army council had said they would hold a rally to back the military. In a statement on its Facebook page, the army council said it was "appealing to them to cancel the demonstration," saying it wanted to avoid divisions.
ECONOMY REELS
In fresh blows to confidence, the Egyptian pound weakened to more than six to the dollar for the first time since January 2005, and Standard & Poor's cut Egypt's credit rating.
The agency cut Egypt's long-term, foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to B+ from BB-, saying a "weak political and economic profile" had worsened further.
The Central Bank raised interest rates unexpectedly in what bankers was an attempt to shore up the pound.
Egypt's ruling army council said it was doing all it could to prevent more violence. In a statement, it apologized, offered condolences and compensation to families of the dead, and promised a swift investigation into who was behind the unrest.
A ruling council member, General Mamdouh Shaheen, told a news conference the parliamentary vote, whose first stage is due to begin on Monday, would go ahead on time. "We will not delay elections. This is the final word," he said.
Another council member, Major-General Mokhtar al-Mullah, took a swipe at the demonstrators. "If we look at those in Tahrir, regardless of their number, they do not represent the Egyptian people, but we must respect their opinion," he said.
Mullah said the army hoped to form a new government before Monday to replace Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, which resigned during this week's violence without giving a reason.
Demonstrators in Tahrir said the truce had taken hold from midnight. Cranes hauled concrete barriers, later reinforced with barbed wire, across streets leading to the nearby Interior Ministry, flashpoint for much of the recent violence.
HUMAN CHAINS
Protesters linked arms in human chains to prevent further clashes with security forces guarding the Interior Ministry.
"We have created a space separating us from the police. We are standing here to make sure no one violates it," said Mahmoud Adly, 42, part of a human cordon four people deep.
Some demonstrators began sweeping the square and collecting rubbish. "We want to show people we aren't here only for clashes, we are also cleaning the place," said Osama Moawad, 23.
The protests in Cairo and elsewhere pose the gravest challenge to Egypt's army rulers since they took over from Mubarak, overthrown on February 11 after an 18-day uprising.
The United States and European nations, alarmed at the violence of the past few days, have urged Egypt to proceed with what has been billed as its first free vote in decades.
The army and the Muslim Brotherhood, which expects to do well in the election, say it must go ahead, but many protesters do not trust the military to oversee a clean vote. Some scorn the Brotherhood for its focus on gaining seats in parliament.
In Tahrir, two groups were chanting against other, one saying, "Muslim Brotherhood, we don't want you in the square," and another responding in a unity call, "One hand, one hand."
The military council originally promised to return to barracks within six months of the fall of Mubarak, but then set a timetable for elections and drawing up a new constitution that would have left it in power until late next year or early 2013.
Tantawi pledged this week to hold a presidential vote in June that could pave the way for a transfer to civilian rule, but the demonstrators, angered by army attempts to shield itself legally from future civilian control, are unconvinced.
"The protesters of Tahrir Square announce their absolute rejection of ... Tantawi's speech, and stress they have been humiliated that the regime moved to offer solution only after martyrs fell," the protesters' communique said.
Before the truce, protesters had fought running battles with security forces around the Interior Ministry. The bloody chaos there contrasted with normal life in streets nearby.
(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair, Tom Perry and Patrick Werr; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Andrew Roche)
online deals kmart old navy sears leap pad baltimore ravens san francisco 49ers
Czech architect Karel Hubacek dies at 87 (AP)
PRAGUE ? Architect Karel Hubacek, whose bold hyperboloid design for an elegant mountain-top hotel was named the most significant Czech building of the 20th century, has died. He was 87
Liberec City Hall in the Czech Republic's north ? where Hubacek lived and designed his famed tower building ? said in a statement Wednesday that he had died. No more details were given.
Hubacek moved from his native Prague to Liberec in 1951. His famed tower hotel, that also serves as a television transmitter, is situated on the nearby Jested mountain. The building, whose silhouette has become the symbol of the city, was completed in 1973.
Hubacek was awarded the prestigious Auguste Perret Prize by the International Union of Architects in 1969 for the design.
the little couple bubba smith bubba smith oakland strike new gmail new gmail oakland general strike
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Maoist leader Kishenji likely killed in West Bengal (Reuters)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) ? Security forces likely killed top Maoist military commander Koteshwar Rao in a West Bengal jungle on Thursday, the government said, striking a major blow to fighters who control large, impoverished but mineral-rich swathes of the country.
The government describes the guerrilla movement as India's biggest internal security threat.
Rao, known as Kishenji, was held responsible for the death of dozens of police. The interior ministry confirmed a man was killed in a fire-fight during an operation to capture the leader.
"Officers on the spot said it was Maoist leader Kishenji ... 99 percent sure it was Kishenji," Home Secretary RK Singh told the PTI news agency.
The rebel, who evaded capture during three decades of fighting to overthrow the state, often appeared with his back to the camera in news reports, his head covered by a scarf and a rifle slung over one shoulder.
The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers, and blame the federal government for doing little for the welfare of poor tribal people.
The rebels feed off the resentment of millions of poor people who have not shared the benefits of the boom in India's economy, which grew 8.5 percent last year.
They control a narrow forested, mineral-rich belt stretching over 22 of India's 28 states. But their influence remains largely restricted to the countryside and small towns.
(Reporting By Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Sophie Hares)
john henry john henry zack greinke zack greinke siri san diego news ford evos
Tsonga beats Nadal to reach semis at ATP finals
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France celebrates at match point after beating Rafael Nadal of Spain during their round robin singles tennis match at the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France celebrates at match point after beating Rafael Nadal of Spain during their round robin singles tennis match at the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France waves to the crowd after beating Rafael Nadal of Spain during their round robin singles tennis match at the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France plays a return to Rafael Nadal of Spain during their round robin singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals, at the O2 arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts as he plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their round robin singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals, at the O2 arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts as he plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their round robin singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals, at the O2 arena in London, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
LONDON (AP) ? Whatever Rafael Nadal tried to throw at Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday, it seemed the Frenchman was always one step ahead of him.
Now Nadal is hoping he hasn't lost his passion for the game.
Tsonga qualified for the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals at the expense of Nadal, beating the second-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 in a decisive round-robin match to join Roger Federer in the last four in the season-ending tournament.
Nadal ? who suffered his worst loss ever to Federer in a 6-3, 6-0 defeat Tuesday ? then acknowledged that his motivation and desire has been lacking since losing the U.S. Open final to Novak Djokovic in September. Nadal hasn't won a title since then, losing his only final to Andy Murray in Tokyo.
"I was little bit less passionate for the game probably, because I was a little bit more tired than usual," Nadal said. "To compete I wasn't in the right way."
Against Tsonga these days, you need to be.
The tall Frenchman used his powerful ground strokes to dictate play against Nadal, and tried to speed up rallies by using a serve-and-volley approach that the Spaniard struggled to counter.
"Jo knows where I hit every ball during the point," Nadal said. "I didn't have a surprise shot during all the match. So that's very difficult at this level."
Nadal still plans to play in the Davis Cup final against Argentina in December ? an event that usually brings out the best in him and gives him a chance to end 2011 on a high note.
But he acknowledged that the end of the year "wasn't easy for me." Nadal won his sixth French Open title in May but continually saw himself bested by Djokovic, who won the other three Grand Slam titles and took over the No. 1 ranking. But Nadal said he isn't letting himself get frustrated by the Serb's dominance over him.
"Frustration is not the right word for me," Nadal said. "In your career you have moments (up) here, you have moments (down) here, you come back, you go down. And today is not my best moment."
Tsonga improved to 2-1 and Nadal fell to 1-2 in Group B. It is the first time Tsonga has reached the semifinals of the event, while Nadal missed out for the second time in five appearances.
Federer beat Mardy Fish 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 earlier to finish the group stage 3-0. David Ferrer also has qualified for the semifinals from Group A, with top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych in contention for the last spot going into the final group matches on Friday.
In perhaps the hardest-fought match of the tournament so far, Tsonga broke twice in the third set to go up 5-2. But he faltered in the next game, double-faulting three times to give Nadal renewed hope, only to bounce back and break the Spaniard to love. He sealed the win with a hard forehand winner.
"Tonight I just played, well, amazing tennis," Tsonga said. "I was really aggressive. I had a good percentage on winners. I put a lot of pressure on him today."
Tsonga often dictated the early rallies with his powerful groundstrokes and earned the only two break points of the first set by taking a 15-40 lead in the fourth game. Nadal saved the first by challenging a call in the middle of a long rally when he correctly judged that Tsonga's shot was long, and hit a service winner on the second.
Tsonga dominated the tiebreaker, winning the last five points and hitting an ace on his first set point.
Nadal earned the first break of the match when Tsonga served at 5-4 in the second to force a decider. But the Frenchman soon took charge in the third, breaking for a 2-1 lead with a delicate drop shot that Nadal could only return into the net. Nadal then netted an easy forehand to go down 5-2, hanging his head in despair, and couldn't fight back despite Tsonga handing him the next game.
In the early match, Federer began the first set with the same kind of ruthless efficiency that helped him beat Nadal in just one hour, breaking Fish three times in the first set.
But the Swiss star's accuracy and energy levels dropped in the second, as the American jumped out to a 5-2 lead and served out the set when Federer netted a backhand.
But Federer immediately took control of the decider, breaking for a 2-0 lead with a forehand passing shot. The fourth-seeded Federer lost just two points on his serve the rest of the way and converted his first match point when Fish shanked a backhand wide.
"He really started to zone in on many shots" in the second set, Federer said. "I thought he was able to keep that up in the third set. So I was happy to get the crucial break early in the third and maybe cruise a bit more."
Federer had already clinched a semifinal spot, while Fish was eliminated after losing his first two matches.
"Bottom line is I'm going to go away 0-3, which is hard," Fish said. "But I had a great experience just being a part of this. It gives you a lot of ammunition to want to come back next year."
Associated Pressnamibia hell on wheels hell on wheels new york city marathon andy williams andy williams nyc marathon
"A man's accusations of himself are always believed; his praises never." [Quotables]
"A man's accusations of himself are always believed; his praises never." ~ Michel de Montaigne "The Art of Conversation"
A recent study in the APA journal Emotion reveals that when people lay on too much self-praise, it's detrimental to their growth and can lead to depression. Across several studies, it turned out that participants who ranked their performance higher than it should have been were more likely to feel depressed and dejected. Co-author Chi-Yue Chiu notes that it likely has to do with the fact "inaccurate self-assessments can prevent self-improvement." It's certainly still important to pat yourself on the back now and again, but be wary of overdoing it and overlooking your faults, an idea French essayist Michel de Montaigne seems to peg on the above quote.
Too Much Undeserved Self-Praise Can Lead to Depression | Science Daily
chris carpenter the brothers grimm the brothers grimm penn state football weather boston grimm fairy tales grimm fairy tales
Venezuela receives first gold shipment from Europe (AP)
CARACAS, Venezuela ? President Hugo Chavez's government began repatriating Venezuela's gold reserves from European banks Friday as the first shipment arrived on a flight from Paris.
Troops guarded the shipment in a caravan of at least five armored trucks that carried the gold to the Central Bank in Caracas.
A group of government supporters cheered and waved flags as the caravan passed, with soldiers holding their rifles at the ready. Two light tanks escorted the shipment.
Chavez announced in August that his government would retrieve more than 211 tons of gold held in U.S. and European banks.
Chavez announced earlier Friday that the first of the gold was on its way.
"It's coming to the place it never should have left. ... The vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela, not the bank of London or the bank of the United States," Chavez said. "It's our gold."
He said that previously the gold was held in Britain. He didn't specify the bank nor say how much was in the shipment.
The leftist president has said his decision to repatriate the gold reserves is aimed at helping to protect the oil-producing country from economic troubles in the United States and Europe.
Economist Pedro Palma, who is a professor at the Institute of Higher Studies of Administration, said he saw no economic justification for moving the gold.
"From the economic point view, it is the same to have it here as in England. The reserves will not change because of this," Palma said. He said it seemed to be an attempt to show the public "heroic actions" on the part of the government.
Chavez's opponents have called the plan costly and ill-advised.
Central Bank president Nelson Merentes said the gold has been held abroad since the late 1980s as backing for loans requested from the International Monetary Fund by prior governments.
With the gold in Venezuela, Merentes said, "it's a guarantee" for the country.
"If there's some problem in the international markets, here it's going to be safe," Merentes said.
wild horses lyrics jr martinez megyn kelly green bean casserole sweet potato recipes green bean casserole recipe ryan braun
Friday, November 25, 2011
Texas QB Schaub back at practice to help Leinart (AP)
HOUSTON ? Injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was back at practice on Thanksgiving, wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he kept a close eye on his replacement, Matt Leinart.
Schaub sustained a Lisfranc injury in Houston's 37-9 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 13, and had to give up hope on returning this season after meeting with foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte on Wednesday.
Houston (7-3) placed Schaub on injured reserve, and Leinart will make his first start at Jacksonville (3-7) on Sunday.
Schaub is scheduled to have surgery in Charlotte next Wednesday. Doctors have assured him his injury is not career-threatening and isn't likely to occur again when he returns to action.
"Once I talked to everyone, there really wasn't an option out there, other than to get it fixed for the long term," Schaub said. "It's pretty positive as far as after the surgery, getting the rehab done and being able to come back, play and be fine."
Coach Gary Kubiak said Schaub will travel with the team this weekend and be available to support Leinart, rookie T.J. Yates and third-stringer Kellen Clemens, who signed with Houston on Wednesday.
"He needs to stay very much involved," Kubiak said. "I think there's a way he can help this team, so we're going to give him a chance to do that. It's just tough to see him standing back there."
But Kubiak isn't sure how much Schaub will be able to help after his surgery. Schaub said he faces a long recovery, starting with 6-8 weeks of non-weight-bearing activity.
"It's not a quick turnaround, as far as rehabilitation," Schaub said. "It's going to be an offseason getting ready and getting right for training camp."
Schaub has been the Texans' starter since 2007, after he was acquired in a trade with Atlanta. He missed five games in his first year with the team because of a shoulder injury and concussion, then sat out five more in 2008, one with an illness and four with a knee injury.
Critics questioned his durability, but Schaub silenced them by starting every game between 2009-10 and the first 10 of this season. He hurt his foot in the second quarter against Tampa Bay and played the entire second half, but said he didn't make the injury more severe by staying in that game.
"Talking to the doctors, there wasn't anything I could do worse to it, other than something new," he said.
So far, Houston has survived remarkably well as one key player after another has gone down with an injury, taking control of the AFC South behind the best 10-game start in team history.
Running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate missed time early, outside linebacker Mario Williams was lost for the season with a torn chest muscle, and star receiver Andre Johnson has sat out six games with a right hamstring injury. Johnson is expected to play in Sunday's game, along with safety Danieal Manning, who broke his left leg in a victory over Tennessee on Oct. 23.
Still, the Texans haven't trailed in four games, hold a two-game lead in the division and seem to be closing in on the team's first playoff appearance.
Schaub says this year's success makes the frustration over this injury more disappointing than the ones he's had in past years.
"The physical side of it and actually getting hurt is part of the game and I can handle that," he said. "Mentally and all that, I can deal with that. I'll be back. I'll get back.
"But after all the hard work I've put in and this team's put in, this organization, to get to this point, with six weeks to go, that's the frustrating part, to not see it through with my team," he said. "That's the frustrating part, to get to this point and not be able to finish it."
Schaub was determined to return to practice on Thursday and be on the sideline Sunday to help Leinart, who will make his first start since 2009, when he played for Arizona. Leinart didn't take a snap last season, and re-signed with the Texans because of his comfort level with Kubiak, Schaub and the Houston system.
Schaub is confident the offense won't miss a beat with Leinart taking the snaps.
"He's been around enough football," Schaub said. "He's played enough, too, it's not too big for him. He's going to go out there, be even-keeled, run the huddle, run the offense and he's going to be in good shape."
brandi glanville kristin chenoweth beanie wells beanie wells dina manzo dina manzo once upon a time
Egypt military rulers reject calls to step down (AP)
CAIRO ? Egypt's military rulers rejected protester demands for them to step down immediately and said Thursday they would start the first round of parliamentary elections on time next week, despite serious unrest in Cairo and other cities.
The ruling military council insisted it is not the same as the old regime it replaced, but the generals appear to be on much the same path that doomed Hosni Mubarak nine months ago ? responding to the current crisis by delivering speeches seen as arrogant, mixing concessions with threats and using brutal force.
So far it's working no better than it did under the former leader.
Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, seething over the military's perceived failings over the past nine months, say they will not leave the iconic plaza until the generals step down in favor of a civilian presidential council, a show of resolve similar to that which forced Mubarak to give up power in February after nearly three decades.
"What we want to hear is when they are leaving," said Tahrir protester Khaled Mahmoud on hearing of an apology offered by the military for the deaths of nearly 40 protesters since Saturday. "The ouster of the marshal is only a matter of time," he added, referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years before he succeeded him in February.
"There will be no postponement in the election," said Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shaheen, one of two members of the ruling military council who spoke at a televised news conference on Thursday. "The election will be held on time with all of its three stages on schedule."
The two generals said the throngs in Tahrir do not represent the whole of Egypt and warned of chaos if the council was to immediately step down, language similar to Mubarak's scare-mongering while trying to cling to power in the face of the 18-day uprising against his rule.
The two generals ? Shaheen and Maj. Gen. Mukhtar el-Malla ? also said that parliamentary elections would start on time Monday and that a new prime minister to replace Essam Sharaf would be picked before the vote.
News reports that were not yet officially confirmed said Kamal el-Ganzouri, who served as prime minister under Mubarak in the 1990s, has been approached by the military as a possible candidate for prime minister. State television showed footage of el-Ganzouri meeting with Tantawi. If confirmed, el-Ganzouri would replace Essam Sharaf, whose government resigned this week.
Tahrir Square, meanwhile, was quieter Thursday after five days of intense clashes. Police and protesters agreed to a truce negotiated by Muslim clerics at the scene. At the same time, soldiers built barricades from metal bars and barbed wire to separate the protesters and the police on streets-turned-battlefields leading from Tahrir to the nearby Interior Ministry.
Protesters formed a series of human chains on the those streets to prevent anyone from violating the truce or approaching flashpoint areas close to the police lines. The truce came into force around 6 a.m. and was holding by nightfall.
The two generals from the ruling council who spoke attempted a revision of recent history to fend off calls for the military to step down.
They said their legitimate claim to power came when troops were warmly welcomed by Egyptians at the time they took over the streets from the discredited police early in the anti-Mubarak uprising. The legitimacy of their rule was reinforced by the overwhelming endorsement Egyptians gave to constitutional amendments they proposed and put to a referendum in March, they said.
"Consequently, it will be a betrayal of the people's trust if the military council was to relinquish power now," Shaheen said. "History will not kindly remember that."
El-Mallah, addressing the same news conference, said the military respected the views of the Tahrir protesters, but they did not represent the whole of Egypt.
"We will not relinquish power because a slogan-chanting crowd said so. ... Being in power is not a blessing. It is a curse. It's a very heavy responsibility."
Activists blame the military council for the country's persistently tenuous security and its growing economic woes, along with a host of other failings.
They say the council has been secretive, issuing cryptic decrees, cracking down on critics and seeking to discredit groups behind the anti-Mubarak uprising and turn the public against them. It has put at least 12,000 civilians on trial before military tribunals and is accused of torturing detainees.
The military's standing as the nation's most upright institution was dealt a heavy blow by clashes during a Coptic Christian protest on Oct. 9 in which 27 people died, most of them Christians. Video showed soldiers running down demonstrators with armored vehicles. The military tried to deny its troops opened fire or intentionally ran over protesters, blaming the violence on Christians and "hidden hands."
A coalition of more than 20 youth groups and political parties, responding to the comments made by Shaheen and el-Mallah, accused the military of spreading "misinformation" and pledged to continue their sit-in until it transfers power to a "national salvation" government to oversee elections for a new parliament and president.
"We are determined to protect our (January) revolution," they said in a statement that also disputed the assertion by the two generals that the March referendum gave legitimacy to the military's rule.
The military has been Egypt's most powerful institution since army officers seized power in a 1952 coup that toppled the monarchy. All four presidents since then hailed from military background. Taking the reins from Mubarak on Feb. 11 gave the military the opportunity to directly rule Egypt for the first time since the early 1950s, something that critics often cite to explain their political inexperience.
With Mubarak under arrest and being tried on crimes punishable by death, Tantawi and his generals would be loath to step down under pressure and leave themselves vulnerable to legal proceedings by the next administration. Additionally, stepping down would inflict lasting damage to the military's standing, although that has already been hurt by the scathing criticism and ridicule they already have endured on the streets and in the independent press.
Perhaps as a precaution against such a prospect, the generals have been trying to win immunity for the armed forces against civilian oversight and to enshrine a role for themselves in the next constitution as guardians of the nation. The bid was seen as one of the final straws that sent people out onto the streets again, convinced the military was trying to grab and cling to power.
The military has countered the criticism with implicit threats, frequently using the patriotism card and insisting that they have no wish to stay in power beyond the election of a new president before the end of June 2012.
"O glorious people of Egypt, our only loyalty in the armed forces is to you and the soil of Egypt," Tantawi told the nation this week in a televised address. "Criticism directed at the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (the formal name of the military's ruling council) aims at weakening our will and mandate and seeks to undermine the great trust between the people and their armed forces," said Tantawi, whose address bore a striking resemblance to speeches given by Mubarak during the January-February uprising.
The two generals also praised the police for what they said was their restraint and said they have every right to defend themselves, but acknowledged they made mistakes while handling the protesters. They said nothing about witness reports that members of he military police also battled protesters alongside the hated police in the latest clashes.
They appeared to try to drive a wedge between the protesters, addressing those camping out in Tahrir square as "honorable" while criticizing others who battled the police for five days on nearby side streets.
The military, said the two generals, would return to their barracks if only Egyptians voted in favor of that move in a referendum or when an elected civilian administration was in place. The idea of holding a referendum on the military immediately stepping down was first floated by Tantawi on Tuesday.
The military's defiance in the face of popular opposition to its rule comes as more and more protesters in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt blame the army and the much hated police equally for the death of nearly 40 protesters since the clashes broke out on Saturday. At least 2,000 others have been wounded. The military is also accused of remaining loyal to Mubarak, having put him under arrest and on trial only when large protests pressured them to do so.
"The army is now operating like the police, a tool of suppression," said protester Mayada Khalaf. "With all these lies from the army, it is like they are sticking their tongues out at us."
seal beach seal beach bhutan zip code finder zip code finder blackhawks tigers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)