The Road Gets Rougher for Judyisms Faithful

Kinh Doanh, Be Trap | harvard summer school 2011 |

LAST Saturday I invited my friend Brodie, a 30ish gay man like myself, to a preview performance of "End of the Rainbow," Peter Quilter's play about the final days of Judy Garland . In the course of that invitation, I asked him if he was a Judy fan, and he said, "No, but she was good in 'The Wizard of Oz.' "

United Press International

Judy Garland during her concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961.

By ROBERT LELEUX

Published: April 5, 2012

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Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Tracie Bennett as Garland in "End of the Rainbow," the new show at the Belasco Theater.

That's the kind of answer I might expect from Tim Tebow, but being a good sport, Brodie accompanied me anyway. "End of the Rainbow," which opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theater on Monday night, is, as they say, a play with music, starring the formidable Tracie Bennett, who does her scrappy best to belt out Judy's standards. After the show I asked Brodie which of the songs he'd heard before, and he said, " 'Over the Rainbow' and the thing with the train." By which he meant "The Trolley Song," from the 1944 MGM classic, "Meet Me in St. Louis," directed by Vincente Minnelli, Judy's second husband.

I weep for my people.

I'm only half-kidding. I have this theory that because of the holocaust that was the AIDS epidemic and its annihilation of the previous generation of gay men, the faith of our fathers risks extinction. Today, Judyism, like Yiddish, is little more than a vague cultural memory.

Not for me. But then I grew up in a bubble of fabulousness, raised by a brilliant team of big-haired Texas ladies to whom Judy was a kind of patron saint, and who were, for all intents and purposes, gay guys themselves. "Judy at Carnegie Hall" was the soundtrack of my childhood. As any fan can tell you, it's Garland at her swaggering best: glamorous, triumphant and almost superhumanly resilient. It goes without saying that such resilience held enormous appeal for gay men. The tale might be apocryphal, but there's good reason some people still believe that Garland's death brought on the Stonewall uprising , which began the day after her funeral.

This Indomitable Judy, however, is not the subject of "End of the Rainbow," which is, more or less, a gay version of "The Passion of the Christ." In "Rainbow" we watch a spooky, sparrow-thin Garland die a slow, drug-addled death while puking, wheezing and staggering about the stage in her slip. "Summer Stock," it ain't. It's also not, at least to my way of thinking, any way to treat an idol. But then, and I never thought I'd be asking this, is Judy Garland still a gay idol?

"Not to me, she isn't," Brodie said, after the show. "I mean, I know she used to be important to gay guys, but I don't see what she has to do with being gay anymore, except she did sort of remind me of Whitney and Lindsay and Britney. You know, train wrecks. The whole play was like that YouTube video where Britney goes after that car with her umbrella . Some gay guys do seem to like that kind of thing."

I asked, "Did your mother ever listen to Judy albums around the house?"

"She liked '80s hair bands. Poison, Aerosmith, Journey. But I bet my great-grandmother listened to her."

I asked, "Is this a dagger I see before me?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Personally I like Joni Mitchell," he continued. "She's real. Not so dramatic. Down to earth."

Who wants down to earth, I wanted badly to respond, when you can be transported over the rainbow? Instead I asked Brodie if he'd ever heard gay guys refer to themselves as "Friends of Dorothy?"

"Why would they do that?"

"Because gay men once identified, very powerfully, with Judy Garland: her wit, gravitas, glamour."

It's a concept that Brodie seems to find embarrassing. "I guess I'm just not interested in glamour," he said. "I'm interested in artists who can tell me about real life."

Given that perhaps the common denominator of virtually every gay idol — Garland, Callas, Piaf — was her ability to transcend reality, this comment struck me as significant. That such ladies have, to an extent, gone out of style suggests how very much real life has changed for gay men of my generation.

Not that I'm Judyism's last adherent by a long shot. I remind Brodie of this and ask whether he even believes it's important to preserve our cultural traditions. "For instance," I said, "the way Rufus Wainwright recreated Judy's Carnegie Hall concert. " But this seems to occur to him as stagnation.

"If that's what he wants to do, great," Brodie said. "It's just not my idea of being gay. Today gay can be anything."

This is, I suppose, what progress sounds like, though for some reason I find it vaguely depressing. Near the inevitable end of "End of the Rainbow," a bleary, bloodshot Garland says wishfully, "Immortality might just make up for everything." That's the new millennium for you, Judy, I feel like telling her. Immortality just isn't what it used to be.

Theo www.nytimes.com

US Neighborhood Watch Volunteers Help Protect Communities

Kinh Doanh, Be Trap | harvard summer school 2011 |

The controversial killing of teenager Trayvon Martin in the southern United States by a man who was patrolling his neighborhood has brought attention to private citizens taking the law into their own hands.

Baruti Jahi, a longtime Washington resident and father, knows he can't take his family's safety for granted. "I'm up at four in the morning looking out my window because my dog is barking, and all of a sudden I see two young men walking down my street.  At four in the morning, that's an unusual situation," he said.

Jahi called the police after that incident, and they caught the young men, who were trying to break into a nearby house.

He says it was their behavior that drew his attention. "They were just taking little peeps and then looking into each car," he said.

It's Samantha Nolan's job to help people recognize those behaviors.

Nolan will train residents of Jahi's neighborhood on running their own neighborhood watch group.  For more than a decade, she has worked with the police to train more than 1,000 people in the nation's capital. "We have an expression: 'See it, say it.'  If you see something, you call 911 (the standard emergency phone number in the U.S.) and say what you see," she said.

Nolan decided to use that strategy here in her own neighborhood after there were 18 robberies in just 45 days.  Now, when someone goes out of town, the neighbors keep an eye out for their house and if they see something suspicious, they call the police.

"Four people were exiting a home that the neighbors knew were on vacation, and because we sent out our alert, they were watching the house, and we were able to make that arrest and that was the end of the burglary spree," she said.

Neighborhood watch groups came under scrutiny last month after a volunteer followed a young black man in a Florida town. The volunteer George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, allegedly in self defense.

Nolan says she tells volunteers never to pursue anyone suspicious.  In fact, she says that just knowing your neighbors is the best way to fight crime.  And Baruti Jahi agrees. "You want to be vigilant, but not a vigilante.  You want to represent the best interests of the community in a safe and careful manner," he said.

And in that way, he hopes to help make his neighborhood just a little safer for his family.

Theo www.voanews.com

Early learning vital to development

world trends report | medical school interview questions |

Experts on April 27 agreed that it is necessary to raise public awareness of early childhood education and strengthen partnerships among parties to support young children"s comprehensive development.

The conference on early childhood care and education was part of the Global Action Week on Education for All in Vietnam and was jointly held by the Ministry of Education and Training and local and international organisations in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

Nguyen Vinh Hien, deputy minister of Education and Training said early childhood from birth to eight years of age is the most critical period in human development so early childhood care and education for millions of children in the country should be a priority.

He said children's rights should be ensured from their early years.

Sun Lei, Education Programme Co-ordinator of UNESCO in Vietnam said: 'Early childhood care and education is the foundation for all foundations.'

However, according to experts at the conference, the importance of early childhood care and education is not impressed upon enough by parents, teachers and relevant agencies.

Sun Lei said: 'All of us wish to bring the best to our children, but such a wish does not always mean that every one of us knows the best way to nourish, care for and educate them.'

Ta Thuy Hanh, an officer from Save the Children said parents were too busy earning a living to have time for communicating and interactive activities with their children. Many wrongly assumed that eating and sleeping were enough for their children.

Many parents in big cities also entrusted the care and education of their children to domestic workers or nannies who had low intellectual standards and no parental relations with children, she added.

Dao Thi Vi Phuong, an officer of the Vietnam Women's Union added that even when spending time with their children, many lack the knowledge and skills to educate and communicate with them.

Experts agreed that there should be community groups and mechanisms to provide training for parents about child development, positive parenting, health and hygiene.

Experts agreed that to ensure a strong foundation for children, the link between parents and pre-school should be closer.

Deputy Minister Hien said the ministry, in co-operation with local and international organisations, will invest in the quality of early childhood education and implement official policies and programmes to increase communication between parents, pre-schools and the community.

( VNA )

Theo en.baomoi.com

Thousands visit Festival in the Clouds 2012 in Sa Pa

oto | harvard university |

Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists flocked to the 'Festival in the Clouds 2012' in the mountainous tourist town of Sa Pa, which will be held from April 28-May 4.

Visitors take photos of ethnic minority groups in Sa Pa (Photo:VNA)

On April 29 alone, 5,000 visitors attended the festival, and this year the management committee of the festival expects to welcome over 12,000 visitors.

The festival this year includes many special shows featuring the traditional cultures of ethnic minority groups in Sa Pa such as the Giay, Mong and Zao communities, as well as offer interesting and unique local cuisines and folklore.

Visitors will have a chance to attend the Sa Pa Love Market Night, enjoy local folk songs and dances, play traditional games and try their hand at working as a local farmer for a day.

A highlight of the festival is the special programme 'One-day farmer in Sa Pa', where participants have the opportunity to be directly engaged in production activities with the locals, like seeking forest medicinal plants, learning brocade-making and embroidery and practicing ethnic cooking styles.

Le Duc Luan, Chairman of the People's Committee in Sa Pa District said the area is trying to focus on its ethnic culture and traditions to boost local tourism. So far Sa Pa has organised a Khen (pan-pipe) contest and developed community tourism in villages.

In addition, the festival features musical performances and folk games by ethnic minorities like Mong, Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho communities living in Sa Pa in northwestern Vietnam in Lao Cai Province.

With beautiful weather and outdoor temperatures ranging between 25-27 degrees Celsius, many visitors are excitedly walking around and posing for photos around the ancient town and Xuan Vien Lake, two must-visit destinations in Sa Pa, and also enjoying native cuisines.

Theo en.baomoi.com

Second fruit hot steam processing plant built

Intergirl.net | school teacher |

The second fresh fruit processing plant that uses the international-standard hot steam technology to eliminate toxics and pests on fruit for exports will soon be operational, according to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Department said that the plant named 'Good Life' in the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-tech Zone had been completely checked by local experts and was ready to be operational.

However, the official operation of the plant will have to wait until representatives of Vietnamese fruit importers have tested and recognised it.

Local officials of the Department said that they are sending an invitation to its Japanese counterparts to visit the plant and conduct tests.

According to Vietnamese fruit exporters, a number of foreign markets, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have high standards for imported fruit. As a result, Vietnamese fruit should be processed at such a plant before being exported to these markets.

At this point, Vietnam's first fruit hot steam processing plant named Yasaka in Binh Duong is operational and it mainly treats blue dragon fruit to be exported to Japan and South Korea.

According to local officials, blue dragon fruit is favourite and in high demand in foreign markets.

Source: TBKT

Translated by Thu Nguyen

Theo en.baomoi.com

French President to Sue Website for Defamation

o cung samsung | school teacher |

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he will bring charges against a news website for claiming that late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi had offered to give him $50 million to help finance his first presidential bid.

Photo: Reuters

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (C), UMP party candidate for re-election in the 2012 French presidential elections, waves as he arrives to Chateaurenard before a campaign rally in Avignon, France, April 30, 2012.

French website Mediapart reported Saturday that it had obtained a 2006 Libyan document signed by Libya's then-intelligence chief, Moussa Koussa, with the offer.

Sarkozy told France Television Two Monday that the claim was grotesque, and said he would file a lawsuit before the end of the current presidential campaign.

Sarkozy spearheaded Western military intervention that helped drive the Libyan leader from power in a 2011 popular uprising.

France will hold a runoff election Sunday, with Sarkozy trailing socialist candidate Francois Hollande in opinion polls. Hollande emerged as the frontrunner in the April 22 first-round vote, edging the incumbent with 28 percent of the vote to Sarkozy's 27 percent.

Theo www.voanews.com

Frances Presidential Frontrunner Gives Markets the Jitters

may xay sinh to | school logo |

The eurozone"s sovereign debt crisis has helped topple half a dozen European leaders. It looks like French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be next. Polls show Sarkozy"s Socialist rival, Francois Hollande, winning France"s May 6 runoff election.  But the prospect of an Hollande presidency is making markets - and analysts - nervous.

Photo: AP

Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, center, arrives at Brive airport in Brive, Central France, after the first round of the presidential election, April 22, 2012.

It's been nearly 20 years since France had a Socialist president. That may change in just over a week. French polls all predict Socialist contender Francois Hollande will beat conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round of presidential elections on May 6.

In press conferences and interviews - like one on French radio Friday - Hollande outlines an economic strategy that includes more taxes for the rich and more spending to stimulate growth.

But Hollande says his first action would target the wider eurozone crisis that is now in its third year.  Hollande says he will renegotiate a European Union fiscal treaty agreed to last year in order to promote economic growth.

The Socialist candidate is getting applause from his supporters - but not from markets, which briefly dipped after he won the first round of French elections last Sunday.  Analysts like economics professor Tomasz Michalski, of the HEC business school in Paris, also see little reason to cheer.

"First of all, Hollande is going to increase very drastically taxes in France. In the short run the increase in taxes is going to lower the budget deficit," he said. "But in the long run it's not a good growth strategy…this is going to keep talent away. And France desperately needs new businesses, desperately needs entrepreneurs to keep the economy going."

Other experts agree. Britain's leading The Economist magazine is even more critical, calling Hollande's economic prescriptions "dangerous."

Analyst Philip Whyte, of the London-based Center for European Reform, says he understands why markets are jittery about an Hollande presidency.

"But of course, once he's in office, he will very quickly be confronted by some of the constraints of office and some of those constraints might be imposed by the bond markets," he said."

Hollande's growth prescription for Europe even got some support this week by European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi, who called on governments to invest in jobs and growth along with spending cuts.

Jobs and economic growth are top concerns of French voters like 54-year-old Fatna Chouaikh.  Chouaikh believes Hollande can turn things around.   She says Hollande is competent, hard-working and has what it takes to bring France out of its economic doldrums.

Under current President Sarkozy, the economy shrank and unemployment soared to nearly 10 percent.

Most analysts agree that Sarkozy is not to blame for a global crisis that has sent many other economies tumbling as well. Whyte, of the Center for European Reform, credits Sarkozy for pushing through a few key reforms - like raising the retirement age - and for his initial leadership in the eurozone crisis.

But Whyte faults the French president for letting German Chancellor Angela Merkel dictate eurozone policies today. And overall, he gives Sarkozy's performance a mediocre review.

"The problem with Sarkozy is that he really doesn't have an economic vision," Whyte said. "He's a man of action. But he has no real coherence to much of what he does. If you look at his performance over five years as president, there's not been a terribly clear economic path he's forged."

Professor Michalski offers similar criticism.

"The measures that Sarkozy is proposing in this campaign do not form a coherent long-term program," he said. "Rather, they're small measures addressed to particular issues. So I'm very skeptical."

Ultimately, smaller parties may shape the economic policies of either an Hollande or a Sarkozy presidency.  Hollande is counting on far-left and centrist voters to win the May 6 runoff.  Sarkozy is courting those who voted for the far-right in the first round - and who are skeptical of the European Union and of taking economic orders from Brussels.

Theo www.voanews.com