Death toll hits 72 in India building collapse

MUMBAI, India (AP) ? The death toll in the collapse of a residential building being constructed illegally in India's financial capital rose to 72 Saturday amid diminishing hopes of finding any survivors alive, police said.

Another 70 people were injured when the eight-story building on forest land in the Mumbai suburb of Thane caved in into a mound of steel and concrete Thursday evening, police said.

Thirty-six of the injured were still in city hospitals and the rest discharged after medical treatment, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for the local municipal corporation.

Most bodies have been recovered, but some people might still be trapped in the debris, said Malvi. He expected the rescue operation to be completed later Saturday.

Police officer Dahi Phale said that rescue workers with sledgehammers, chainsaws and hydraulic jacks worked through Friday night to break through the tower of rubble in their search for possible survivors. Six bulldozers were brought to the scene.

Malvi said 20 bodies were recovered overnight.

Prithviraj Chavan, the top elected official of Maharashtra state, said a government probe has been ordered into the accident, and that a deputy municipal commissioner and a senior police officer have been suspended for dereliction of duty.

At the time of the collapse, between 100 and 150 people were in the building. Many were residents or construction workers, who were living at the site as they worked on it, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for the Thane government.

The dead included 17 children, police said.

A nearby hospital was filled with the injured, many of whom had head wounds, fractures and spinal injuries. Hospital officials searched in vain for the parents of an injured 10-month-old girl who had been rescued.

At least four floors of the building had been completed and were occupied. Workers had finished three more floors and were adding the eighth when it collapsed, police Inspector Digamber Jangale said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the structure to collapse, but local police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said it was weakly built. Police were searching for the builders to arrest them, he said.

Police with rescue dogs were searching the building, which appeared to have buckled and collapsed on itself.

Raghuvanshi said rescue workers had saved 15 people from the wreckage.

Building collapses are common in India as builders try to cut corners by using substandard materials, and as multi-storied structures are built with inadequate supervision. The massive demand for housing around India's cities and pervasive corruption often result in builders adding unauthorized floors or putting up illegal buildings.

The neighborhood where the building collapsed was part of a belt of more than 2,000 illegal structures that had sprung up in the area in recent years, said Malvi, the town spokesman.

"Notices have been served several times for such illegal construction, sometimes notices are sent 10 times for the same building," he said.

G.R. Khairnar, a former top Mumbai official, said government officials who allowed the illegal construction should be tried along with the builders.

"There are a lot of people involved (in illegal construction) ? builders, government machinery, police, municipal corporation ? everybody is involved in this process," he told CNN-IBN television.

The building that collapsed was illegally constructed on forest land, and the city informed forestry officials twice about it, Malvi said.

A local resident, who did not give his name, said the site was meant to hold a smaller structure and accused officials of turning a blind eye to the problem.

"They made an eight-story building of what was supposed to be a four-story building. People from the municipality used to visit the building but the builder still continued to add floors," he said.

In one of the worst recent collapses, nearly 70 people were killed in November 2010 when an apartment building in a congested New Delhi neighborhood crumpled. That building was two floors higher than legally allowed.

___

Ngashangva reported from New Delhi.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-hits-72-india-building-collapse-054605965.html

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First Friday RVA, April 2013: Is It Actually Spring? | Gay Richmond ...

Spring is here, lent is over, Easter has passed

Read More: First Friday

Via RVA Mag?s Andrew Necci

?

Spring is here, lent is over, Easter has passed, and the weather might actually have figured out that it?s time to warm up! So maybe this First Friday it?ll actually be pleasant walking-around-outdoors weather. Wouldn?t that be nice??If nothing else, you can always go hang out by the fire-spinners on Marshall St and catch a nice breeze that way. But regardless of how comfortable it is outside, the inside of the art galleries is where all of the action is. So come out on Friday night and see check out all the great displays that are available for your perusal. And bring a coat, just to be on the safe side. Here?s what you?ll find on the art walk this month:

Gallery 5: Doings And Undoings

Elena Lourenco?explores the relationship between such things as culture, nature, the body and spirit in sculptural installations that juxtapose imagery from domestic life and the natural world. Lourenco creates objects and installations that communicate powerful narratives about both society and self.

Lourenco received her B.F.A. from San Jose State University, CA and her M.F.A. in Sculpture from Arizona State University, AZ. She is an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at SUNY College at Buffalo, New York.

Doings And Undoings?will premiere with an opening reception on First Friday, April 5, from 6-11 PM, at?Gallery 5, located at 200 W. Marshall St. The evening will also feature live music from?Heavy Midgets,?Paul Ivey And the Rubes,?The Crypts, andCavum, as well as a?First Friday Street Jam?presented outside the building by the Party Liberation Front.?Doings And Undoings?will remain on display through April 27.

Art Whino Richmond: Process On Process

This month, Art Whino Richmond presents a collection of new works by Richmond artist?Jonathan Hirsch, featuring large paintings of pop cultural figures with dark histories?such as Walter White from Breaking Bad.?Process On Process?will premiere with an opening reception on First Friday, April 5 at 7 PM at?Art Whino Richmond, located at 202 W. Broad St.

Visual Art Studio: Arcade Complex

Mermaid Tea, 18?24, oil on canvas

Visual Art Studio presents?Arcade Complex, new oil paintings by Dan Rhett.

Join us as we host this exciting new collection that has been four years in the making! This new collection of twenty small to medium size oil paintings by Dan Rhett includes handcrafted frames made from reclaimed wood. Rhett creates mythical beings, cafe? scenes and sea creatures from whimsical shapes and earth tone colors. His artwork has been so popular his previous exhibitions at Visual Art Studio have completely sold out. Art Lovers from across the U.S. and as far away as Australia have collected Dan Rhett?s original work

Arcade Complex?will premiere with an opening reception on First Friday, April 5, from 7-10 PM at?Visual Art Studio, located at 208 W. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display through May 31.

1708 Gallery: Mixology Preview

1708 Gallery will be holding Mixology, its 23rd Annual Art Auction Benefit, on Saturday, April 6. The auction will feature work by 60 different artists, and will feature honorary chair Shepard Fairey. Fairey will be presenting a piece from his?Station To Station?series specifically created for his Richmond appearance, and limited editions screen prints of this piece will be available for purchase through 1708 Gallery.

The artwork being sold during Mixology will be previewed during a public reception to be held on First Friday, April 5, from 5-9 PM, during which Shepard Fairey will be in attendance from 5:30-6:30 PM. The preview will be held at?1708 Gallery, located at 319 W. Broad St. For more information, click?here.

Art6: VCU Communication Arts Senior Show

The Communication Arts Department at VCU is proud to present its graduating class of seniors in a consummate group show at Art 6 at 6 East Broad Street in Richmond. This exhibition showcases the final portfolios of students who will graduate this May, or those who have just graduated last December, with a rich education in illustration, drawing, painting, and design. Upon graduation, they will enter fields as diverse as medical illustration, fine art, animation both digital and traditional, mural painting, comic and graphic novel authorship, editorial illustration, and beyond. Planned, coordinated, and executed by the seniors themselves, this show is supported but not run by the department, meaning that all freedom and responsibility is on the backs of the seniors to represent themselves, the school, and their field well.

Consider this a debutante moment for each student participant to present themselves as professionals in their fields. Each entrant has been given the opportunity to decorate, customize, and otherwise show off their personal style in a section of the gallery, and they have embraced that chance in ways such as: creating an installation, setting up projectors, and painting a mural. They showcase a uniqueness of personality that is vitally important in the intensely competitive arena of Communication Arts.

The VCU Communication Arts Department?s 2013 Senior Show will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 6-10 PM at?Art6 Gallery, located at 6 E. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display through April 28.

Books Bikes And Beyond: Have Brush, Will Travel

Books Bikes And Beyond presents an exhibition of hand painted signs and watercolors by Richmond sign artist?Ross Trimmer.?Have Brush, Will Travel?opens with a reception on First Friday, April 5, at 7 PM, at?Books Bikes And Beyond Thrift Store, located at 7 W. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display through April 31.

ADA Gallery: Ology

ADA Gallery presents?Ology, an exhibition of new works by sculptor Morgan Herrin.

Herrin?s works have utilized wood to mimic materials ranging from the hard surfaces of iron, copper, and bronze, to the more delicate and fragile organic shapes found in nature, from plant and moss forms to bone and skin. In this new exhibition of his work, he takes as his subject the remains of the Ice Man (or ?Oetzi? as scientists named him), the mummified 5,300-year-old man that was discovered in 1991 in the Eastern Alps near the border between Austria and Italy startlingly well preserved in the ice, as if thousands of years had not passed. The sculpture, in a similarly vivid fashion, is an astonishing, frighteningly lifelike image of our ancestral past captured in an almost dancing gesture, as if frozen in time for all of eternity to witness.

Ology?will premiere with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 6-9 PM at?ADA Gallery, located at 228 W. Broad St. The exhibition will remain on display through April 27.

Turnstyle On The Artwalk: Breaks Edition

Turnstyle presents a combination of art and music, with DJs spinning vinyl on the sidewalk and art in the boutique. Kristy Cuffee, a DJ Photographer from the 757, will be displaying large format prints framed of dance music DJ?s & events from her portfolio. Music will be provided by Joe Kopacek of Buzz DC, Chris Bulla of Modern Music Baltimore, and Turnstyle?s own Jesse Split. The event will take place on First Friday, April 5, from 7-10 PM at?Turnstyle, located at 102 W. Broad St. Kristy Cuffee?s art will remain on display through April 30.

H3ads Up: Live Art Show

This month, H3ads Up will feature a live art event by performance artist Jonathon Blake (stage name: Crazyredbeard). Joining forces with live musicians and a bevy of other artists, Blake is set to create a collaborative painting with both fellow artists as well as the general public with the theme of autism awareness in mind. As April is Autism Awareness month, this ?peace? will be created on site and auctioned/sold with partial proceeds to benefit autism research.

Blake was raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia and attended Atlee High School before receiving his undergraduate schooling at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He plans to move back to the area with his wife and 4.5 month old son to spend more time with his family, as well as to create more stunning works of live, improvisational art at various musical events. 2013 has seen him conjoin with a number of different charities with the idea in mind that art can be a healing and helpful tool to society.

This event will take place on First Friday, April 5, starting at 5 PM, at?H3ads Up Art Gallery & Clothing Boutique, located at 104 W. Broad St.

Steady Sounds: New Paintings

Steady Sounds presents new paintings from Richmond artist and musician Frederic Alexandre Blasco. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, beginning at 7 PM, at?Steady Sounds, located at 322 W. Broad St. The paintings will remain on display through the month of April.

VCU Arts: Fail!

VCU Arts presents?fail!, ?an exhibition of unappreciated, unfinished, in process and imperfect artwork.? The event will feature work from 22 different artists, and will also include music, dance, and video presentations. The exhibition will be presented on First Friday, April 5, from 7-10 PM, at VCUarts? Department of Graphic Design building, located at 1509 W. Main St.

Studio Two Three: Cabinet Of Curiosities

Cabinets of Curiosities house collections of specimens, exotic objects, and art, memorabilia and ephemera. These ?Cabinets of Wonder? were precursors to the museum, dime museum and sideshow. S23?s Cabinet of Curiosities Portfolio houses a collection of art and curiosities gathered for scholarship, amazement, and wonder. This is a juried exchange reflecting the diversity of the contemporary print community. Featuring work by: Haig Demarjian, James Elhers, Hilliary Gabryel, Christian Gregory, Jacob Green, Jorge Guillen, Ashley Hawkins, Brooke Inman, Rosemary Jesionowski, Andrew Kozlowski, Sarah Moore, Travis Robertson, Linda Lucia Santana, Jake Urbanski, and Christopher Wallace.

Cabinet Of Curiosities?will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5 from 7-10 PM at?Studio Two Three, located at 1617 W. Main St. The exhibition will remain on display through the month of April.

Glave Kocen Gallery: Populace

Glave Kocen presents?Populace, an exhibition of new works by Steve Hedberg.

Steve has always been fascinated with humans? ability to transform the environment like no other species. Focused on urban sprawl and population centers, Steve creates scenes of fictitious cities, one color, shape and texture at a time. The result is ?Populace,? a series of abstracted networks of buildings and roads, viewed from the perspective of one looking at a miniature city, much like observing a cross-section of an ant colony. Along with more than 25 urban folk paintings, Steve continues his theme on paper using silk screen techniques.

Populace will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 6-9 PM, at?Glave Kocen Gallery, located at 1620 W. Main St. The exhibition will remain on display through April 27.

Artemis Gallery: Chrysalis Metamorphic Silk Light Sculptures

Artemis Gallery presents an exhibit of new works by Barbara Woods.

Barbara Woods is a Santa Fe artist who has worked in the textile industry for over 30 years. After years of working, she began to design wall pieces and lamp shades that eventually evolved into the works that are currently shown today. She uses the French Gutta resist technique of painting on silk. All works are original and no stencils are used. She continues to develop unique lamp shades in painted silk in collaboration with H. Tom Thomas, her husband and partner.

Chrysalis Metamorphic Silk Light Sculptures?will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 5-10 PM at?Artemis Gallery, located at 1601 W. Main St.

Red Door Gallery: Spring Into Color

Peter Batchelder, ?Southern Sun?, 16? x 30?, oil on canvas

Red Door Gallery presents?Spring Into Color, a show featuring three painters working with distinct color palettes and bold brush strokes.

Peter Batchelder is known for the heavily-saturated, almost-neon colors of his New England barn-scapes. Bordering on barn portraiture, Batchelder captures these icons of our past as they are, alone in a barren landscape, yet as they are not, loaded with ironically happy colors.

Dallas Mosman captures the subjects of her abstract, botanically-inspired paintings in a similar way, with a distinct, refined color palette and bold brushstrokes, but with a very different point of view and results. Instead of isolation and irony, Mosman creates isolation and joy in her microcosmic garden scenes that burst with a magical mix of movement and life. Her latest paintings were inspired by gardens in Richmond and Mexico, and are being shown in conjunction with Historic Virginia Garden Week.

Pat Gerkin is a multi-media artist heavily influenced by texture and design. Her latest works are colorfully painted carved patterns in wood, reminiscent of snakeskins.

Spring Into Color?will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5 from 6-9 PM atRed Door Gallery, located at 1607 W. Main St. The exhibition will remain on display through April 27.

Visual Art Center: Keeper?s Keep

This exhibition is composed of sculpture, installations, paintings, drawings, and sketchbooks that chart Aggie Zed?s unique working methods in a variety of media. Zed?s studio practice is eclectic and varied. Often starting with images from her sketchbook, she may develop some of these concepts into paintings and others into sculptural tableaux or installations. Her subject matter is nothing less than the sum of human civilization, with an emphasis on our relationship to the animal kingdom. Human and animal figures collide with furniture or landscapes; rabbits sprout wheels or wings, while horses drown in collapsing scaffolding. Zed?s dreamscape narratives probe the inner reaches of the subconscious mind.

Although Zed?s work derives much of its meaning from literary associations, her imagery teems with invention and startling leaps of imagination. Her visual poetry conjures a world in which logic and rationality take a comfortable backseat. Human foibles and impulses are placed in the foreground. And even though she works in different media, her conceptual approach remains consistent throughout.

Derived from the title of one of the artist?s works,?Keeper?s Keep?alludes to British usage of the term ?keeper? for ?curator,? and plays on the double meaning of ?keep? as both noun and verb. Aggie Zed is a storyteller whose works take us out of our consensual reality and into a world filled with absurdity, ambiguity, and the gifts of artistic imagination.

Keeper?s Keep?will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 6-8 PM atVisual Art Center, located at 1812 W. Main St. The exhibition will remain on display through June 7.

Page Bond Gallery: Scattering Bright & Spaces

Page Bond Gallery presents two exhibitions: Scattering Bright, new work by Allison Cooley, and Spaces, recent work by Dragana Crnjak.

Alison Cooley,?Lilassalt, Mixed media on paper 38 x 42 inches

American painter Alison Cooley has developed a distinctive body of work that is vibrant, expressive and bold. She uses palette knives, spatulas, and her hands as part of an animated process that draws the eye back and forth along the surface of her paintings, following the spirited movement of the artist?s gestures. Her highly abstract paintings are intuitive, playful, and saturated with color. The dynamic movement and bold juxtaposition of hues in Cooley?s paintings command attention. While much of her earlier paintings were anchored by an abstract horizon line, her newest body of work shows fields of color and line that dance spontaneously across the canvas in what Cooley calls ?lyrical abstraction.? In this new series, her exuberant palette is recognizable in new combinations: whimsical line and fields of neutral white intersect expanses of color. This new body of work is assertive, energetic and resolute.

Dragana Crnjak,?Untitled (Spaces Blue), 2012, Acrylic, charcoal, gloss medium on canvas 50 x 60 inches

The abstract work of Bosnian-born artist Dragana Crnjak often begins with a defined sense of place. Her most recent series is inspired by her travels to Iceland, a landscape well suited to her sensibility, in the summer of 2012. Many of her works offer a powerful suggestion of vastness and space. The bold contrasts of velvety black charcoal against pristine white are tempered by softly blended shadows, subtle gradations and white-on-white figures. Her charcoal and acrylic works are characterized by minimal color, deep contrast, and fragmented, abstracted shapes that seem to be in a state of appearing or disappearing. ?The fragmented structures. . . often suggest the transitional moments of becoming and vanishing, the uplifting but still fragile energy of a new beginning, a sense of levitation,? says Crnjak. Her figures in jet-black or varying shades of white seem to be anchored in space like constellations viewed through a hazy lens containing sparks of light or specks of dust. Their abstract forms suggest the imperfect recollection of a memory, which will have different significance for viewers.

Scattering Bright?&?Spaces?will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 7-9 PM, at?Page Bond Gallery, located at 1625 W. Main St. The exhibitions will remain on display through April 27.

Reynolds Gallery: Lure Of Impossibility, 27 Songs, & Coda

Cindy Neuschwander,?Coda 1, 2012, Oil and wax on sixteen canvas or wood panels 42 x 42 inches

Reynolds Gallery presents three new exhibitions:?Coda, a posthumous overview of the art of Cindy Neuschwander;?27 Songs, a collection of works by Tanja Softic; andLure Of Impossibility, a collection of works by Javier Tapia. These three exhibitions will open with a reception on First Friday, April 5, from 7-9 PM, at?Reynolds Gallery, located at 1514 W. Main St. The exhibitions will remain on display through May 18.

Strange Matter: Cabaret Lumiere

Strange Matter and The Department of Kinetic Imaging at VCU present?Cabaret Lumiere, a Dada/Fluxus-inspired arts event showcasing media and performing artists in Richmond VA. Come out between 4 and 9 PM for cheap drinks and media art (video, animation, sound, projections etc). At 10pm, The First Friday after-party begins, with a performance art showcase lasting till 1:30. Donations accepted for Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project at door.?Strange Matter?is located at 929 W. Grace St.

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Artists! Galleries!?Would you like your future First Friday events covered in these monthly articles? We might hear about your event anyway, but why leave it to chance? Email your press releases to?andrew@rvamag.com.

By Andrew Necci; top image by Dave Parrish

Source: http://www.gayrva.com/arts-culture/first-friday-rva-april-2013-is-it-actually-spring/

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Samsung to open mini-stores in Best Buys

Samsung has announced that it will be opening stores inside 1,400 Best Buys by this summer.

By Aimee Ortiz / April 4, 2013

Models hold a Samsung Galaxy S III Mini phone and a Galaxy S III phone during the Mini's world premiere in Frankfurt in October. Samsung is expected to open 1,400 mini-stores in Best Buy.

Reuters

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In what looks like a direct challenge to Apple, Samsung has teamed up with Best Buy to bring Samsung boutiques into Best Buys nation-wide.

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The Samsung Experience Shop will take up an entire section of Best Buy stores and will display Samsung phones, laptops, cameras, tablets, television, and, of course, accessories.

In addition to a centralized shopping ?experience,? owners of Samsung products will have access to in-store customer service.

The mini-shops, set to begin opening on April 8, will have Samsung employees there to assist consumers looking for new gadgets.

?This is our first opportunity to demonstrate connected mobile products in a location with educated Samsung employees able to walk a consumer through the experience,? says vice president of retail marketing for Samsung Mobile's American unit Ketrina Dunagan, according to ZDNet.

Ms. Dunagan goes on to say that "70 percent of the population lives within 10 miles of a Best Buy." A centralized shop for all Samsung products means that Samsung will be able to reach that wide audience.

According to a COMscore report released in March, Samsung holds 21.4 percent of the American smart-phone market. That?s just behind Apple, who ranked first with 37.8 percent.

?This effort is the last of a three-legged stool, from products to marketing and now retail,? says Dunagan, according to Bloomberg News.

Best Buy already sells Apple products from special, dedicated sections on the showroom floor. The Samsung Experience Shop, however, will be larger and will allow customers to purchase Samsung products directly.

Of course, Samsung already has retail locations, however, those shops have not had the success or popularity of Apple stores.

?Operating standalone retail stores has been a huge advantage for Apple, but it's a strategy that few companies have been able to replicate,? writes CNet?s Shara Tibken.

ZDNet?s Charlie Osborne explains that opening shops inside Best Buys will save Samsung the vast amount of money and time required to build multiple retail locations.

The announcement could also shake up Best Buy's fortunes. The Minnesota-based retailer has seen a decline in sales, due in part to stiff competition from other retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

?For Best Buy, the move could help further establish the retailer as a player in the mobile segment and reverse trends that have seen Best Buy struggling as consumers increasingly opt for Internet-based shopping,? writes AppleInsider?s Kevin Bostic.

Best Buy?s struggles are nothing new. In a world where CDs and DVDs have been replaced by digital files, the tech retailer has had to find different ways to keep afloat. After realizing that customers were window-shopping in stores but purchasing the items online, Best Buy began to match online prices.

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly was hired in August to the lead a ?turnaround.? Mr. Joly says the Samsung Experience Shop will help revive the store.

So, will taking a page out of Apple?s book help Samsung and Best Buy? We?ll find out by June.?

For more tech news, follow Aimee on?Twitter, @aimee_ortiz

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/wKwDb9q5onI/Samsung-to-open-mini-stores-in-Best-Buys

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For Bassem Youssef, Egypt's 'Jon Stewart,' satire is no laughing matter

To fans of controversial Egyptian comedian and TV host Bassem Youssef, he's "a pioneer" and "one of the funniest guys in Cairo." To his critics, he's an incendiary force who insults Islam under the guise of free speech. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

By Ayman Mohyeldin, Charlene Gubash and Christina Caron, NBC News

To fans of controversial Egyptian comedian and TV host Bassem Youssef, he?s ?a pioneer? and ?one of the funniest guys in Cairo.? To his critics, he?s an incendiary force who insults Islam under the guise of free speech.

As for Youssef, he says he?s ?just the host of a political satire show? who appeals to people seeking controversy and ?a good laugh.?

A former heart surgeon, Youssef developed an online following after posting satirical YouTube clips during the violent 2011 uprising in Egypt. He was eventually offered his own TV show, ?The Program,? earning inevitable comparisons to Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show."

?I don't take aim at the president, I take aim at the authority -- because this is what sarcasm is all about. This is what joking and political satire is all about -- not about me confirming with the president,? Youssef told NBC News. ?Political satire everywhere in the world is directed towards two things: authority and right wing. I mean, the right wing is amazing -- they're giving us amazing material.?

In fact, he says, perhaps his critics should be thanked for the additional ratings: "It seems they are watching my show more than anybody."?

---

Fans: Youssef is saying 'what we all want to say'
In one episode he sang to a heart-shaped pillow bearing Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi?s face, and in several others he relied on sexual innuendos to get laughs. Although some have taken offense, the show is viewed by an average of 30 million people on TV, and averages 2.5 million views on YouTube.?

One of those fans, 21-year-old student Mohammed Barakat, said Morsi is just saying ?what we all want to say.?

?Every Friday everyone sits with their family to watch [?The Program?] ? It?s a way to escape all the problems and make fun of what?s going on and takes away a bit of the depression,? Barakat?said.

If the Muslim Brotherhood tries to shut down the show, Youssef said, ?There?s YouTube -- they have to close YouTube then, or they have to put us in jail, or they have to make us flee the country.

?So there are many lovely options out there,? he joked.

But Morsi isn?t laughing.?

Egypt?s top prosecutor issued an arrest warrant, accusing Bassem of insulting Morsi and Islam. Youssef turned himself in and then was released on bail after being interrogated, prompting a stern statement from the U.S. State Department.

It followed several legal complaints filed by Morsi supporters.

Sayed Hamad, a lawyer who filed one of those complaints, said Youssef?s show is ?shattering ? all the values and ethics that we are used to.??

For Youssef to wear a giant hat, an exaggerated version of the graduation hat Morsi wore in March when he was awarded an honorary degree, was "humiliating" to the president, Hamad said.

But when Youssef also wore the hat to his interrogation at the prosecutor general?s office, Hamad said it was akin to ?a drug dealer who was caught red-handed going into the courtroom with drugs in his hand.?

'You don't have to be petty'
On Monday, the prosecutor general accused Youssef and his TV station?s CEO with disturbing the peace. That day, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" took aim at Morsi?s government.

?When you?re actually powerful, you don?t have to be petty,? Stewart said during his 11-minute segment on Youssef?s arrest. ?Bassem is my friend, my brother. There are two things he loves in this world with all his heart: Egypt and Islam. And his family. Three things.?

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo tweeted a link to Stewart?s monologue, angering Morsi whose office tweeted: ?It?s inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda.? The embassy deleted its Twitter account temporarily then it resurfaced without the link to Stewart?s show.?

At one time, Morsi pledged to uphold freedom of expression.?

When asked in January, two years after the Arab Spring uprising, if Youssef and other critics such as Mohamed ElBaradei need to worry about going to jail, Morsi told CNN, ?They are Egyptians, they are part of my family in Egypt, there is no way any harm can befall them because of their opinions or their personal opposition.?

That remains to be seen. With so many admirers of the show, any decision to punish Youssef would likely be met with public outcry.

?I wouldn?t allow it, personally. If it takes us demonstrating to stop it because it?s not just about Bassem Youssef, it?s about freedom of speech -- simple as that,? American University professor Hala Abdel Hak said.

Store owner Ghada Abdel Hak says Youssef has an ability to ?put a mirror in front of you in a very funny and smart way.?

?Egyptians now after the revolutions will not shut up,? he said.

Youssef's legal ordeal is far from over -- he could be called back into the general prosecutor's office for questioning, or referred to trial.?

So far, however, he isn?t bending to political pressure. If things escalate and he?s forced to leave the country, he says ?he?ll do so with a broken heart.?

Producer Taha Belal contributed to this report.?

?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a68f2a0/l/0Ldailynightly0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A60C17620A0A890Efor0Ebassem0Eyoussef0Eegypts0Ejon0Estewart0Esatire0Eis0Eno0Elaughing0Ematter0Dlite/story01.htm

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Nelly REVEALS Why He Won't RUSH Into MARRIAGE & Why ...

Rapper Nelly sat for a candid interview where he revealed if he ever plans to marry and why industry relationships often fail. ?Watch the clip inside and see Jada Pinkett Smith?clear up the rumors of an "open marriage."

?

Now that we've watched his longterm relationship with Ashanti fizzle out, and seen him spark up something new with actress Tae Heckard, rapper Nelly gave a surprisingly candid interview about his thoughts on marriage and relationship (which might explain the backstory to of the Ashanti breakup).

He says he does want to get married one day, but no one will pressure him into it. ?Also, ?he gave an interesting perspective on industry relationships saying you can't compare them to "normal" couples. ?He says you can't compare a relationship between to non-celebrities who've been dating for seven years, to that of a celebrity couple who's been dating for the same amount of time. ?He explained that if you factor in all the travel and time spent away from home, the celebrity couple might have only spent three years together. ?It's a different kind of math.?Here are the highlights:?

On industry relationships:

I think people see the relationships that industry folk have and they see the time, but there're not doing the math. ?If you do the math on that time, you'll see that it equals out to something totally different.

On public perception of his relationships:

I shy away from public perceptions about my relationships. ?You can't tell me what I should be doing in my relationship. ?I'm not home everyday. ?I haven't seen her in two weeks. You see so many celebrities get married and then they're divorced in a year. ?You know why? ?It's because when they get finally get together....the -ish that you thought was cute, becomes annoying. ?

On if he will ever get married:

Yea I think so. ?But nobody is going to force me. ?Nobody is going to rush me into anything. ?Marriage is something you should do when you are ready to do it and you know this is everything. ?I take marriage very seriously. ?And I only know two ways of marriage. ?My parents' marriage didn't last at all and my grandparents' marriage lasted 60 years. ?I'm either gonna go all the way to 60, or I'm not gonna do it. ?

On being faithful:

I know me. ?If I have any questions, I'm going to play on that and eventually that may weigh in on the situation.

On if he's ever been close to marriage:

I don't think you've been close until you've been engaged. (He's never been engaged).

?

Watch the interview here:

?

And in other "marriage" talks....

Jada Pinkett Smith, one of the producers of Free Angela (in theaters today) chatted with the HuffPost about rumors of an "open" marriage to Will Smith, that have followed the couple for years. She explained that she's never given Will a pass to go outside of their marriage saying,

"I've always told Will, 'You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be OK,'"

She continued,

"Because at the end of the day, Will is his own man. I'm here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that's not for me to do for him. Or vice versa."

So how have they managed to remain together for so long? ?She said,

"I think that you have to go into a relationship knowing ? especially when you're dedicating yourself to someone for the rest of your life ? this is a life partnership. ?He's (Will) been by my side through some of the most difficult parts of my life. And so that's something you can never take away."

It certainly doesn't sound like she ever said he can go out and sleep around on her, but it does show that she and Will realize that love and partnerships have ebbs and flows and they're both willing to roll with the punches. ?

Source: http://theybf.com/2013/04/05/nelly-reveals-why-he-wont-rush-into-marriage-why-industry-relationships-fail-jada-pinkett

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Accenture acquires ChangeTrack for analytics-based change ...

Thursday, April 4, 2013 by Helena Schwenk

This week Accenture quietly announced its acquisition of Australian predictive analytics service vendor ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd, for an undisclosed amount.

The company offers a methodology and tool ? called ChangeTracking ? which helps organisations monitor, measure and optimise large scale change management programs, for example where an organisation is undergoing M&A activity, a company-wide ERP or CRM program, or a restructuring exercise. Initiatives of this nature tend to involve managing a complex array of factors and dimensions, including people, technology and processes that need to be continuously aligned and managed; so it?s no surprise that projects often go off track and don?t deliver the business outcome expected. ChangeTrack?s technology aims to address this challenge by providing more rigour and discipline to the measurement process surrounding a program, so managers can pick up on early warn signs and identify where action is needed while change is actually taking place, rather than doing this after the fact (as is often the case).

The notion underlying the offering is that change is not a random set of events, but is in fact a series of very predictable paths that an organisation can take depending on what decisions are made. At the heart of the ChangeTracking tool is a database comprising responses collected from over 600,000 people across more than 300 change programs ? both those that have been successful and others less so. Using the insight and knowledge accumulated over the years, and by capturing survey-based performance information from the client, the tool is able to statistically analyse data ? using its patented mathematical algorithms ? and identify patterns and critical success factors to highlight what is normal and not normal in different types of change programs at different stages. This then forms the basis of an action plan used to help put a program back on track.

ChangeTrack?s methodology and offering has attracted a pretty impressive client list too, including BP, Nike, 3M, LloydsTSB, and Shell. Similarly it has worked with a number of large global consulting firms, including Accenture, with whom it worked as part of product development to help the company understand how consultants plan and implement change in their client organisations. Having a productive working relationship has obviously been an influential factor in Accenture?s decision to key to acquire the company. The consulting firm is expected to use its new purchase to complement its own set of methods, tools and capabilities for measuring and managing change programs. Longer term, however, we can also envisage the tool and its predictive analytics capabilities being used across a wider range of industries and geographies. The other benefit of being own by one of the largest global consulting firms is that the more clients that use the tool, the more data can be collected and analysed, and the better the tool can get at identifying issues and recommending corrective action ? so all in all we see this as a good thing for ChangeTracker and its customers and prospects.

Posted in Analytics, Information Management

Source: http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2013/04/accenture-acquires-changetrack-for-analytics-based-change-management.html

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