Hathaway Named Hasty Pudding Woman of Year

CAMBRIDGE News: Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway can add another honor to her list: the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year award presented annually by Harvard University’s budding thespians.

Hathaway will be feted Jan. 28 at a humorous “roast” and parade held by Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the nation’s oldest undergraduate drama troupe. Hasty Pudding men traditionally dress up in women’s clothes for the event.

Hathaway made her name as a teen in “The Princess Diaries,” and has since showed her range in comedies like “Get Smart” and dramas such as “Brokeback Mountain.” She was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009 for “Rachel Getting Married.”

Hasty Pudding honors performers who have made a “lasting and impressive contribution” to entertainment. Recent women of the year have included Renee Zellweger and Charlize Theron.

World Trade Fell Unprecedented 10 Percent this Year: Lamy

SEOUL news updates: Global trade this year is likely to fall by an ‘unprecedented’ figure of more than 10 percent, the head of the World Trade Organisation said Monday.

Pascal Lamy said governments have made progress in tackling the worst downturn for decades but much remains to be done.

“In February this year, the global economic downturn was peaking,” the WTO director general told a forum in the South Korean capital.

“Less than a year on, progress has been made but we are not yet out of the woods.” Future write-downs in the world financial system have now been cut to about three trillion dollars, he said, citing an estimate by the International Monetary Fund. “The clean-up process has reached the half-way mark but this progress is still too slow,” Lamy said.

Bruni First Lady of France to Act for Woody Allen

PARIS, News Update: France’s first lady, singing ex-supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has agreed to star in US auteur Woody Allen’s next movie, she told a television interviewer.
“He suggested I appear in his next film. I don’t know what the role would be, but I said yes,” the 41-year-old Italian-born singer-songwriter told the main evening entertainment show on the Canal+ network.

“I go into everything blindly, or I’d never do anything at all,” she added, apparently referring to her showbiz career rather than to her sudden marriage last year to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“I’m not an actress at all. Perhaps I’ll be completely hopeless but I can’t miss an opportunity like this one. When I’m a grandmother I’d like to be able to say I made a film with Woody Allen,” she gushed.

“Woody Allen kindly asked me not to do a film with anyone else before him. If anything concrete ever comes of it, it’ll be a great experience for me.”

New York filmmaker Allen visited the French first couple in June this year during a trip to Paris to promote his last movie “Whatever Works”.

Asked whom he would like to cast in his next film, he said: “Without question, Carla Bruni! I’m sure she would be wonderful. She has charisma, and she performs, so she’s not a stranger to an audience.”

Taylor Swift Wins 5 American Music Awards

Taylor Swift Wins 5 American Music Awards: LOS ANGELES, Taylor Swift Wins 5 American Music Awards, Country crossover star Taylor Swift overshadowed the late Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning five prizes including artist of the year.
Jackson, who had been expected to enjoy a clean sweep, ended up with four awards. He and Swift went head-to-head in the artist of the year race, the ceremony’s final prize.

Other multiple winners included hip-hop acts Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas, with two each.

Swift, 19, was also named favorite female artist in the pop/rock and country categories, and favorite adult-contemporary artist. Her 2008 album “Fearless,” the best-selling release in the United States this year, was named favorite country album.

She accepted her awards live via satellite from backstage at London’s Wembley Arena, where she will perform a concert on Monday.

“Music has never been ultimately about competition,” Swift said, after winning the artist of the year prize. She said it was an “unimaginable honor” to be cited in the same category as Jackson, and thanked the Jackson family.

Jackson was named favorite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, while his 2003 hits collection “Number Ones” was named favorite album in both those categories. The album is the No. 2 seller this year in the United States.

His brother Jermaine, accompanied by sons Jeremy, Jaafar and Jermajesty, accepted on his behalf. At one point, he thanked Allah “for blessing my entire family.”

Rapper Eminem, making a rare awards-show appearance in the wake of his four nominations, went home empty-handed. Glam-pop singer Lady Gaga, rock band Kings of Leon and jailed rapper T.I., who earned three nominations each, were also snubbed.

The Black Eyed Peas were named favorite group in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. Jay-Z won favorite male artist and favorite album in the rap/hip-hop categories. His wife Beyonce, who was performing a show in Dublin, was named favorite female artist in the soul/R&B category.

Punk rock trio Green Day won the favorite alternative artist. Rascal Flatts won favorite country group for the fourth year in a row.

The performance-heavy show included some notable scenes. Openly gay “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert kissed a keyboardist of indeterminate gender and rubbed a male dancer’s face in his crotch. Jennifer Lopez, meanwhile, landed on her bottom after jumping off the arched back of one of her dancers.

Nominees are determined by radio airplay and retail sales, while members of the public determine the winners through online voting. That’s why Jackson got so many nominations, even though he didn’t release any new material.
Source: apakistannews.com

Commodities Attract Investors: Barclays Capital

LONDON: Commodities will likely attract a record $60 billion this year as investors seek to diversify their assets, Barclays Capital said.

Inflows so far this year are almost $55 billion, already more than the previous full-year record of $51 billion set in 2006, the bank said in a report. Total commodity assets under management will probably expand to $230 billion to $240 billion by the end of the year, Barclays said.

The S&P GSCI Index of 24 commodities rose 46 percent this year, rebounding from last year’s 43 percent slump, as governments spent at least $12 trillion to lift their economies from the worst recession since World War II. Copper, lead and sugar doubled and gold reached a record.

Barclays’ data cover exchange-traded products, U.S. commodity-index-linked mutual funds and so-called medium-term notes, which are customized products.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, reached a record 1,134 metric tons in June. At the time, it exceeded Switzerland as the world’s sixth-largest gold holding.

The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge, fell 7.3 percent this year, buoying demand for commodities as a hedge against further weakness in the currency and making dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for those holding other monies.

Investment products linked to commodities attracted $1.34 billion in the week ended Nov. 18, the most in 3 1/2 years, bringing the year-to-date total to $13 billion, EPFR said.

Funds investing in physical commodities, rather than stocks of commodity producers, “dominated the action,” EPFR said.

McCain Links Success in the War in Afghanistan With More Troops

HALIFAX: US Senator John McCain predicted an allied win in Afghanistan in one year to 18 months if sufficient troops are sent, as the White House mulls sending tens of thousands of reinforcements.

But he said that timeline is threatened by US President Barack Obama’s delay in rolling out a new Afghanistan strategy.

“I am absolutely convinced and totally confident that with sufficient resources we can turn the situation around,” McCain told reporters at an international defense summit in easternmost Canada.

“I even am bold enough to predict that in a year to 18 months you will see success if the effort is sufficiently resourced and there is a commitment to get the job done before setting a date to leave the region,” he said.

But he added that many US lawmakers are “impatient with the delay in the decision-making process,” which is fuelling allies’ ambivalence about the mission.

The Obama administration has been deliberating since August on a new plan to overcome a growing Taliban insurgency and help Afghans rebuild their war-torn nation.

The top US military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal has requested 40,000 more US troops for a broad counter-insurgency strategy to stabilize the country.

The president has been under sustained attack from Republican foes who charge his “dithering” has put the mission and currently deployed troops at risk.

His spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier Friday Obama would wait until after Americans mark Thanksgiving on November 26 to announce plans.

“I am confident that the president will make the right decision,” McCain said.

Johnny Depp Wins his 2nd Sexiest Man Alive Title

NEW YORK: Get lost, Hugh Jackman. This year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” is once again Johnny Depp.

Depp nudged aside Jackman to get the coveted endorsement from People magazine Wednesday. It’s the 46-year-old actor’s second time as “Sexiest Man Alive.” He also won in 2003.

Kate Coyne, senior editor at People, said on CBS’ “Early Show” that Depp has achieved an almost “iconic status in terms of sexiness.”

Says Coyne: “Johnny Depp was someone who was sexy 10 years ago. He’ll be sexy 10 years from now. He’s someone who appeals to multiple generations of women.”

Depp joins other double winners Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Richard Gere.

Matt Bomer, who stars in USA’s “White Collar,” was named “Sexiest Rising Star.”

Target Black Friday Ads 2009

latest news about, Target Black Friday Ads 2009: Target Black Friday ads 2009, Best Buy Black Friday deals 2009 and Walmart Black Friday sales. Black Friday enthusiasm is building up and sales are being announced in almost all sectors. From toys as cheep as $3 to almost thirty percent discounts on Apple iPod and iMac besides mobiles and laptops coming at dirt cheep rates, it is as good as it gets.
Even car companies are offering great sales option and a reviewer has rightly said that Black Friday is the best time of the year when you can buy cars and automobile products as it is cheapest during Black Friday.

Meanwhile retailing companies are doing everything to make it memorable and safe for shoppers.

Black Friday as a term has been used in multiple contexts, going back to the nineteenth century, where it was associated with a financial crisis in 1869.

The earliest uses of “Black Friday” to mean the day after Thanksgiving come from or reference Philadelphia and refer to the heavy traffic on that day.

The earliest known reference to “Black Friday” (in this sense), found by Bonnie Taylor-Blake of the American Dialect Society, refers to Black Friday 1965 and makes the Philadelphia origin explicit:

JANUARY 1966 — “Black Friday” is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day.

It is not a term of endearment to them. “Black Friday” officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.

Philadelphia police and bus drivers call it “Black Friday” – that day each year between Thanksgiving Day and the Army–Navy Game. It is the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year in the Bicentennial City as the Christmas list is checked off and the Eastern college football season nears conclusion.
Source; khabrein.info

Fidel Castro Dead

Fidel Castro Dead: On July 27, 2006, Fidel Castro nearly died during emergency intestinal surgery to stem internal bleeding caused by chronic diverticulitis. Since then, Cuba-watchers and obituary writers have been on high alert awaiting his demise.
Fidel Castro DeadYet, more than three years later, Castro soldiers on, approaching his mortal end with the same zeal he lavished on his life. The 83-year-old appears to have adjusted to his medically mandated retirement, enduring various surgeries and their attendant complications. A state-of-the art convalescent suite has been installed in his principal residence, Punto Cero, where he is surrounded by family and Cuba’s finest doctors. On his good days, he entertains well-wishers — among them, Harry Belafonte and Oliver Stone. And he continues to intervene in the thorny politics of Cuba.

In 2007, while still hospitalised, Castro began a transition from being Cuba’s commander in chief to its pundit in chief, penning columns he calls ‘Reflections’ in the state-run newspaper, Granma. Late last year, he offered some personal introspection. “I have had the rare privilege of observing events for a very long time,” he wrote. He then acknowledged the gravity of his illness. “I do not expect I shall enjoy such a privilege four years from now — when President [Barack] Obama’s first term has concluded.”

But until Castro is in the grave, we will be hearing from him. While his brother Raul and the Cuban army are running the day-to-day affairs of the country, Castro retains and exercises veto power. And Cubans continue to feel the strongman’s sting.

In March, more than a dozen of the most senior members of the Cuban regime were purged from the government. While Raul Castro had initiated the internal coup, Fidel was quick to weigh in and assail its casualties, all former members of his inner circle. The men had succumbed to “the honey of power,” he wrote in his column.

Castro’s reluctant leave-taking — with its periodic near-finales — fits into a long tradition of Hispanic caudillos or dictators. Consider, for example, the life — and death — of Francisco Franco, Spain’s dictator of almost 40 years. Both Castro’s father and Franco hailed from the rugged northern countryside of Spain, a region renowned for its fierce and stubborn citizenry. And notwithstanding divergent political ideologies — Franco was a zealous anti-communist — the two men had a good deal in common. Both were willing to forge unpalatable and unpopular alliances with totalitarian states to shore up their power — Franco with Nazi Germany and Castro with the Soviet Union.

And Franco’s shrouded last days neatly foreshadowed Castro’s. Franco became grievously ill in 1974 and was forced to turn over his rule — “temporarily,” he insisted — to Prince Juan Carlos. Castro also initially ceded control to his brother only “temporarily”. Like Castro, Franco had an unexpected recovery, although his lasted only a year before he died at 82.

Although it is generally believed that Franco died days earlier, his death was announced on November 20, 1975, the same day on which Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Franco’s fascist Falange party, died 40 years earlier.

Some people assert doctors kept Franco alive under orders from the dictator that he would live until the ordained date.

Castro’s untidy leaving has kept the news media in an indefinite state of high alert, as they formulate and reformulate coverage and obituaries. The veteran Spanish Civil War reporter Martha Gellhorn found herself in a similar pickle three decades ago. In 1975, she accepted an assignment from New York magazine to write about post-Franco Spain. “This thrills me, the sort of journalism I love,” she wrote her son. “I am waiting for the old swine to die; but obviously he is being kept breathing [no more] while the right tightens its hold on the country.”

When I asked Castro in a 1994 interview when he would retire, he snapped: “My vocation is the revolution. I am a revolutionary, and revolutionaries do not retire.”

Bardach is the author of Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington and serves on the Brookings Institution’s Cuba Study Project. Thanks to gulfnews.com

Emily Kuchar Pictures

latest News about, Emily Kuchar Pictures, Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Grienke star, 26, is engaged to Miss Daytona Beach 2008 U.S. Emily Kuchar and marry after winning the Cy Young Award American League for 2009. Grienke grabbed 25 votes in first and overwhelmingly won the award this year. Greinke Kuchar met in high school in Apopka High School, Kuchar is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

His record for the 2009 season was 16-8, and recorded an ERA of 2.16, the lowest in the MLB. On October 21, 2009 American League Greinke was named Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News, the first prize for the overall performance of the regular season. On 28 October 2009 was awarded the MLBPA Players Choice Zack AL Pitcher of the year winner was announced during Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio. This award is based on voting by players in major league baseball.

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