“Founder of Tibetan literary website jailed in China for 15 years - Belfast Telegraph” plus 4 more |
- Founder of Tibetan literary website jailed in China for 15 years - Belfast Telegraph
- 2009 According to the T-Shirt – A CafePress Cultural Barometer ... - Earthtimes
- Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center gift brings name change - pepei.pennnet
- This to do while out and about in North Pinellas County - St. Petersburg Times
- 411 Fact or Fiction: TNA Turning Point, Hogan's DVD, the SmackDown ... - 411mania.com
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| Founder of Tibetan literary website jailed in China for 15 years - Belfast Telegraph Posted: 18 Nov 2009 12:13 AM PST Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The founder of a Tibetan literary website has been sentenced to 15 years in a Chinese prison on charges of disclosing state secrets, campaigners said. The International Campaign for Tibet said today they have received reports from Tibetan exiles that Kunchok Tsephel, 39, was convicted and sentenced on November 12 in a closed-door trial in southwestern Gansu province. Some of the charges are believed to be related to content posted on his influential website, Chodme, or Butter-Lamp, which promotes Tibetan culture, and also for passing on information about last year's anti-government protests. Kunchok Tsephel had been detained by police since February 26. There was no official comment and no way to independently confirm the court case. Post a commentLimit: 500 characters View all comments that have been posted about this article Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP address logged and may be used to prevent further submissions. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by BelfastTelegraph.co.uk's Terms of Use. Posts submitted in UPPERCASE letters will be rejected. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| 2009 According to the T-Shirt – A CafePress Cultural Barometer ... - Earthtimes Posted: 16 Nov 2009 03:46 PM PST SAN MATEO, Calif. - (Business Wire) Who knew that something as innocent as a T-shirt could unlock the voice of the people and spread their sentiments loud and proud? In 2009, concerned citizens flocked to CafePress, the epicenter for user-designed t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and other gifts, to sound off on the political and pop culture happenings of the moment. From President Obama to the Twilight Saga, the CafePress community commemorated the news with merchandise designs of their own making. Millions upon millions of clever, creative designs flooded the online marketplace, translating hot headlines into don-able duds. "When it comes to the news, our community of over 6.5 million users is keyed in and standing by to express themselves on whatever the subject matter, making CafePress the ultimate cultural barometer," comments CafePress Vice President of Marketing Amy Maniatis. "You can be sure if it's in the news, then you'll find it on CafePress." Obama Drama
Culture – Popped, Not Fried
Scandalously Political
Movers, Shakers and Public Policy Makers
About CafePress CafePress is the world's biggest destination for self-expression through merchandise. Each month over 11 million shoppers visit CafePress to buy or create T-shirts, mugs, posters and other gifts that reflect their interests, passions, beliefs and affiliations. Launched in 1999, CafePress has empowered individuals, Non Profits and businesses to create, buy and sell customized merchandise online using the company's unique print-on-demand and e-commerce services. Today, CafePress is a growing network of over 6.5 million members who have unleashed their creativity to transform their artwork and ideas into an impressive catalog of over 250 million unique gifts. Learn more about CafePress at http://www.cafepress.com or on their international sites in Australia (http://www.cafepress.com.au), Canada (http://www.cafepress.ca) and the United Kingdom (http://www.cafepress.co.uk). About CafePress Cultural Barometer™ Report With over 11 million shoppers monthly coming to CafePress to buy or create merchandise that reflects their interests, passions, beliefs and affiliations, it's a real-time reflection of the things people truly care about. CafePress created the Cultural Barometer™ Report to share some of the more interesting, obscure, newsworthy, overwhelming, and just plain funny trends that come to our attention via the almighty T-shirt.
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| Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center gift brings name change - pepei.pennnet Posted: 16 Nov 2009 10:12 PM PST |
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center gift brings name change Tampa Tribune (November 17, 2009) By Walt Belcher, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Nov. 17--TAMPA -- A sizable endowment gift from a Tampa philanthropist and patron of the arts will result in a name change for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. The 22-year-old city-owned facility will become the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in honor of the longtime Tampa resident who founded and sold several banks in Florida and Wisconsin during his business career. Straz, nationally known for supporting the arts, also is a director of the Metropolitan Opera. "We are all better people when we have access to the arts," Straz said after a news conference Monday to announce the name change. "Every great city deserves a great performing arts center," he said. "Tampa already has one, and our goal is to ensure that it remains world class." As part of a confidentially request, the amount of the donation was not disclosed, but it reportedly is the largest individual philanthropic gift made to a cultural institution in Tampa. Judy Lisi, president of the Performing Arts Center, said the gift "is a wonderful commitment" and "a significant step toward an endowment goal of $100 million." It brings the endowment close to 50 percent of the goal, she said. "We are ecstatic that he believes so strongly in our mission," she said. Straz is making the gift on behalf of himself, his wife, Catherine Lowry Straz (chairwoman of the Lowry Park Zoological Society, which operates Lowry Park Zoo), and his daughter Keebler. He said he hopes the gift will "energize" the endowment campaign and inspire others in the community to donate. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said she gladly approved the name change, thanking the Straz family for "creating a legacy of a stronger performing arts center for generations to come.' Lisi said the name transition will be gradual. Opening in 1987, the 335,000 square-foot center, which consists of five theaters, three restaurants and the Patel Conservatory, has one of the nation's leading Broadway series. Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654. ----- To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
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| This to do while out and about in North Pinellas County - St. Petersburg Times Posted: 18 Nov 2009 08:16 PM PST | By Nova Beall, Times Staff Writer Today The Clearwater Marine Aquarium continues its free speaker series with "All About Sea Turtles" from 6-8 p.m. at 249 Windward Passage and includes snacks, several guest speakers and a question and answer session. For information, call (727) 686-4827. Today History of the Panama Canal: Gerry DeTore from the Panama Canal Museum in Seminole will be the guest speaker at a 6 p.m. meeting of the Kiwanis of Springtime City at Clearwater Country Club, 525 N Betty Lane. The public is welcome to attend. For reservations, call (727) 725-7549. Visit orgsites.com/fl/springtime city/ and panamacanalmuseum.org. Award-winning drama: The Showcase Repertory Company presents the play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley at 7 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Palm Harbor Public Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave., and at 2 p.m. Dec. 5 at Dunedin Community Center, 1920 Pinehurst Road. $10 suggested donation at the door. Adult themes, not recommended for children. Call (727) 784-3332, ext. 306. Holiday book sale: The Friends of the Library will host a three-day book sale 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today and Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Tarpon Springs Public Library, 139 E Lemon St. Free face painting for kids 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday. Call (727) 943-4922. Classic musical: Countryside High Drama and Thespian Troupe 900 will present West Side Story at 7 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee Friday. $10 adults, $5 students and seniors. Call Kim Florio at (727) 725-7956, ext. 2063. British Society to meet: The British Commonwealth Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Keystone Park, 17928 Gunn Highway, Odessa. Refreshments will be served. New members and guests welcome. Call Wenda at (727) 939-0362 or Pearl at (813) 401-5711. Local author to speak: Friends of the Oldsmar Library will meet at 7 p.m. at the Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive, with guest speaker Philip Tropea, author of Marco. Free. Light refreshments will be served. Call (813) 749-1178. Thanksgiving on a Thursday: Children will re-create Jack and Annie's adventures from the Magic Tree House and travel back to the first Thanksgiving with the pilgrims at 4:30 p.m. at the Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive. Registration required at the children's desk. Call (727) 587-6715. Plumb House Museum: Clearwater Historical Society offers tours of the historic Plumb House Museum, featuring a variety of antiques and vintage items such as uniforms and photos of the Clearwater Bombers champion men's softball team 8:30-11:30 a.m. the first and third Thursdays of every month. The two-story, cracker-style wood house is at 1380 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Clearwater. Free, but donations welcome. Call (727) 446-2676 or (727) 399-1412. Friday Fast-paced comedy: West Coast Players present The Complete Works of William Shakespeare-Abridged with performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. To reach the theater, take U.S. 19 to Drew Street, turn east toward Best Buy, then left at the light at Best Buy onto the access road. Follow the access road to the stop sign and turn right into the first group of units. $18 general admission, $15 seniors/students/military. Call (727) 437-2363. 'Jazz in the Stacks': The Clam Bayou Jazz Band will play a concert titled "Our Salute to Veterans" at 3 p.m. in the community room of the Palm Harbor Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave. Light refreshments will be served. Free admission. Call (727) 784-3332 or (727) 784-8908. Three days of jazz: The 19th annual Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Classic will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort and Marriott Suites on Sand Key, Clearwater. Hear 20 bands and special guests play music spanning the early days of New Orleans and Chicago jazz through the swing era. For information and tickets, call (727) 536-0064. Visit jazzclassic.net. Jackson Browne: The singer/songwriter will bring his solo acoustic tour to Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $64.50, $54.50, $49.50 and $39.50, available at the box office by calling (727) 791-7400 or visit rutheckerdhall.com. Lads and lassies invited: The 11th annual Dunedin Celtic Festival is from noon to 9:30 p.m. at Highlander Park, Michigan Boulevard and Pinehurst Road, with Celtic craft vendors, food and drink. Musical entertainment features Seven Nations, Poor Angus, Lucid Druid, the City of Dunedin Pipe Band and more. Free admission. Parking $10. Call (727) 733-3197 or visit dunedinhighlandgames.com. Back2Back: Mark Anthony and Rus Anderson perform a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John at 8 p.m. at the Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive. $36 VIP, $32 advance, $36 day of show, $30 senior. Call the box office at (727) 587-6793. Dunedin's Green Market: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday until the end of April in Pioneer Park, Main Street and Douglas Avenue. Features produce, cheese, seafood, plants and herbs, honey, organic products and more. Call Richard Kendler at (727) 733-4215. Musical evening: Head to downtown Safety Harbor for the third Friday Music Series, a free street festival 6-10 p.m. at the John Wilson Park gazebo and at local venues throughout town. This month showcases the bluegrass band Pickford Sundries. Call (727) 724-1572 or e-mail karmitage@cityofsafetyharbor.com. Twice a week bingo: Open to the public, games start at 12:15 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday at American Legion Post 275, 360 Wilson St., Dunedin. Prizes and jackpots awarded. Call (727) 733-5153. Art demonstration: The Largo Art Association will host a free art demonstration at 11 a.m. at the Largo Community Center, 65 Fourth St. NW. Suzanne Natzke will demonstrate her technique for watercolor underpainting. Call (727) 518-3131. Hilarious farce: The Leadership Conservatory for the Arts at Tarpon Springs High will present See How They Run at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Tarpon Springs High, Room 801, 1411 Gulf Road. Tickets $5. Call (727) 943-4900, ext. 177. Friday bingo: VFW Post 2550 hosts bingo games every Friday at 360 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.; games begin at noon. Lunch will be available. Call (727) 733-6107. Saturday Get more accomplished: The Eastlake Sunrise Rotary Club will meet at 7:30 a.m. at East Lake Woodlands Country Club, 1055 East Lake Woodlands Parkway, Oldsmar. Tom Kearns of the Kearns Group will discuss how to improve organization and get more done during the business day. Call Roger Johnson at (727) 781-5555. Christmas fair: The Council of Catholic Women will offer Christmas crafts, home-baked goods, crocheted and knitted items, a children's corner and more 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday at St. Brendan's Catholic Church, 245 Dory Passage, Clearwater. Bloodmobile will be on site both days to accept donations. Call (727) 443-5485. Magical masked ball: Attend the first La Bella Luna Masquerade Magical Masked Ball and Magnificent Luck of the Draw Auction benefiting Community Pride Child Care 8 p.m.-midnight at the Kapok Special Events Center, 923 N McMullen Booth Road, Suite B, Clearwater. Hosted by Margaret Wood Burnside and Aaron Fodiman, the evening features hors d'oeuvres, specialty coffees, musical entertainment, dancing, a magic show, glass blowing, a live auction and more. Tickets $55 per person, $100 per couple. Call Dawn LaCross at (727) 512-4801. Seventh annual Bike Fest and Toys For Tots Ride: registration from 9-11 a.m. Saturday at Causeway Plaza, Alt. 19 and Curlew Road, Dunedin. Cost is $5 plus a toy, or $10. For route information, call (727) 787-4700 or visit oldpalmharbormainstreet.net. Holiday arts and crafts sale: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 514 Skinner Blvd., Dunedin. Outdoor show features the artwork of Gulf Coast Artists' Alliance members and friends. Call (727) 738-8010 or visit gcaa-fl.org. Dunedin craft show: The 17th annual Downtown Dunedin Craft Festival will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday along Main St., featuring a unique blend of contemporary original works at affordable prices. Call (954) 592-8500. Bird walk: Clearwater Audubon Society will host a bird walk along the shores of Old Tampa Bay at 8 a.m. at Philippe Park, 2525 Philippe Parkway, Safety Harbor. Bring binoculars. Call Merle Hubbard at (727) 939-1549. Fall festival: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Skycrest Methodist Church, 2045 Drew St., Clearwater, offering handmade crafts, floral arrangements, pies, candy and cookies. Lunch available. Sponsored by Skycrest United Methodist Women. Call (727) 446-2218. Clearwater Garden Club sale: Doors open at 8:30 a.m. at 405 Seminole St. Find plants, baked goods, garden whimsy, clothes and more. Call (727) 441-9374 or (727) 443-7032. Comedienne and storyteller: Laugh along with Suzanne Ruley as she puts the fun in dysfunction through song and story at 8 p.m. at the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, 324 Pine St. Tickets $16, $14 members, $12 students. Call (727) 942-5605. [Last modified: Nov 18, 2009 11:04 PM] |
| 411 Fact or Fiction: TNA Turning Point, Hogan's DVD, the SmackDown ... - 411mania.com Posted: 18 Nov 2009 08:01 PM PST 1. TNA delivered in every aspect that it needed to with Turning Point, making it the company's best pay-per-view of the year.
Stephen Randle: FICTION. Two awesome matches does not "deliver on every aspect". Face it, until the final hour of Styles-Daniels-Joe and Wolfe-Angle, Turning Point was headed towards being a fairly mediocre show. In fact, the undercard had some fairly puzzling decisions, most notably putting the Midcard Mafia over two guys who were involved in main event angles a month ago and generally considered a big part of the future of TNA. I think just because there were no obviously crappy matches, people are over-rating the show based on the last two matches and the already low standards for TNA PPVs. It was a generally OK show, with two MOTYCs, but the rest of the card was totally forgettable. Andy Critchell: FICTION. I think that Turning Point was probably TNA's best PPV of the year but I don't think it delivered in EVERY way. Sure we had a great main event and a great match with Angle but nothing else on the show really stood out. The X-Division match was serviceable as was the Knockouts match. The tag match seemed to be missing "it" plus you had a match with Rhyno who is an absolute abortion in the ring. Lashley/Steiner was a TV main event at best. So basically you had two great matches, only one horrible match, and the rest was in between. I would not call that delivering in EVERY way. Score: 1 for 1 2. Reuniting Matt Striker and Todd Grisham on SmackDown has been a blessing in disguise for the WWE by putting the best announcing team in the business back together. Stephen Randle: FACT. I think the Striker-Grisham team is one of those "perfect storm" things that happens when two announcers play off each other as if they've been doing it for years. Grisham is like a superior version of Michael Cole, in that we know he's pretty much saying what Vince yells in his headset, but he doesn't have the stigma that Cole does, i.e. having spent nearly a decade being pretty much the most obviously inept commentator in WWE. Striker is the real gem, obviously, as he brings two things really required for excellent colour commentary: in-ring experience and an encyclopaedic knowledge of pro wrestling history, as well as apparently knowing every pop culture reference in existence. And when these two men are together in the booth, they actually seem comfortable when they banter, as opposed to King and Cole, whose level of conversation seems to hover around "That's an excellent point" and "Right you are", with nothing else to add. Andy Critchell: FACT. I think that both Striker and Grisham are very good and can work with just about anyone. In fact, I really enjoyed Striker and Josh Matthews together. That being said, it seems to me that as great as Striker and Grisham are separately, they are at their best when together. They really distinguished themselves on ECW and from their work on SD it seems like they have not missed a step. They play off each other so well; Striker as the slightly arrogant and cocky know it all and Grisham as the self-effacing straight man ready to be the butt of a joke. Score: 2 for 2 3. Bringing Raven back into the company will do nothing to help TNA. Stephen Randle: FACT. If Raven were still able to provide anything big for TNA, he probably would have done it the last two or three times he was with the promotion. I'm not saying Abyss/Foley vs Raven/Stevie won't be mildly entertaining, but it's nothing we haven't seen before many times when all four men were younger (and when three of them were MUCH younger and lighter and less injured). Raven is possibly one of the most intelligent minds in wrestling, but TNA is already a company that had some of the best creative minds under contract and it didn't particularly affect them in any big way, so even if Raven somehow takes over writing the shows, I can't imagine he'll be more than a midcard feud with Abyss and Foley for a few months. Andy Critchell: FACT. What has Raven done in the past 10 years that makes you think he can help any wrestling company, anywhere, do anything? He was always a better character than a wrestler, was always overrated (and believed his own hype,) and does not one thing better than anyone else. He won't bring in viewer one or dollar one to TNA. Score: 3 for 3 4. The WWE should be spending more time looking into improving their product and less time worrying about what its employees are Tweeting.
Stephen Randle: FACT. Well, duh. I don't know what else really needs to be said, because agreeing seems self-evident, but let's give it a shot. This is the company that spent years tearing down the veil between kayfabe and reality, and now has spent years trying to put the veil back up so that they can hook the innocent kiddies who weren't around for Attitude. I think as long as wrestlers aren't giving away future storylines or actively badmouthing their employer, Twitter is essentially harmless fun that lets them connect with their fans on a new level. Hell, at the very least, it's free publicity for WWE and helps wrestlers build and maintain followings that could translate into ratings, PPV buys, tickets, and merchandise. Shouldn't WWE be all about stuff like that? Score: 4 for 4
 SWITCH! 5. The TNA World Title Match at Turning Point is among the top two or three front-runners for Match of the Year.
Andy Critchell: FACT. I am awful at trying to name candidates for "best of the year" lists but I thought the match with AJ, Joe, and Daniels was great and the reaction to it has been generally high so I have no problem saying that at this point it should be right up near the top of anyone's list. Stephen Randle: FACT. It won't be my vote for my own reasons, but I recognize that it was an incredibly wrestled match involving three supremely talented wrestlers. So yes, it will be right up there with current favourite Shawn-Taker when the end of the year awards come around. I think it'll have a couple things working against it winning at the 411 awards, though, namely the supporters of TNA probably aren't enough to overcome the votes for the aforementioned Mania match, and also there isn't enough time before the voting to build up support and momentum, while Shawn-Taker has had nearly the entire year to make its case. Score: 5 for 5 6. It's time for someone to take the ECW Heavyweight Title off of Christian and put it on someone else. Andy Critchell: FICTION. Why? Christian has been great as champ, having good matches with everyone. The fact that his reign hasn't been more noteworthy is the fault of WWE, not Christian. He's been busting his ass and the fact that more people don't know about it is a real shame. And at this point there isn't really someone waiting in the wings to take over for Christian. Regal might be the most legit out of anyone on the show but Christian has beat him about 7,000 times so that's out. Change for the sake of change is worthless. Stephen Randle: FACT. From the perspective that Christian is obviously too big for his current role on ECW, and should really be on one of the big two shows instead, but he won't be doing that as long as he's ECW Champion. The downside is that there is nobody on ECW who could conceivably take the belt from him, because the second somebody really gets any sort of momentum or fan support, they ship them off to Raw or Smackdown. That's why Christian has been feuding with William Regal for four months now, after all. Frankly, I'd just give Regal the belt and move Christian somewhere, anywhere, but until Vince thinks he's a star (and really, that line of thinking is becoming more and more insane by the week), that doesn't seem likely. Score: 5 for 6 7. Final Resolution is too early to take the Kurt Angle/Desmond Wolfe feud into a two out of three falls match. Andy Critchell: FICTION. A 2 out of 3 falls match doesn't have the type of feud ending chance that it once did but it does provide TNA with a chance to show that Wolfe is at or near Angle's level. And shouldn't that be the ultimate goal here? Yeah, that's what I thought. Stephen Randle: FICTION. I don't see why not, it's not like they can't have more gimmick matches afterwards. After all, it's probably the best feud in TNA right now, why wouldn't they run it longer than two months? Besides, you'd have to be crazy to say "Kurt Angle and Desmond Wolfe in an even longer, likely even better match than the first awesome one they put on, even having never actually wrestled each other before ever? No thanks, I don't want any of that". Score: 6 for 7 8. The WWE would have been better served by not putting out a Hulk Hogan DVD set, considering recent developments.
Andy Critchell: FICTION. This is simple. By putting out the set, WWE is showing people that if they want to see Hogan in his prime, they have to go to WWE to get it but if they want to see a broken down and desperate old man flop around in a ring because he needs the money, they can go to TNA. You know that if WWE did delay the set that TNA and Hogan are above turning that into an angle or at least a talking point of some sort. Next year at about this time TNA will be putting out a "Best of Hogan" DVD anyway so there's that I guess. Stephen Randle: FACT. Although I don't think they had much choice, I assume this compilation DVD was put together over a few months and it was just bad timing that Hogan signed with TNA three weeks ago, leaving WWE with a stockpile of already-finished DVDs to sell. Not that I know anything about creating and selling compilation DVDs. Anyway, obviously it's a bad idea to be promoting a DVD centered around a guy who was just the highest profile signing of a different organization, but hell, WWE doesn't consider TNA serious competition anyway. Not that I entirely blame them. Final Score: 6 for 8 Another near-perfect score is foiled by the last few questions, and Stephen and Andy end up 6 for 8. Thanks to the both of them for their great answers, and a of course to you our readers for clicking on the link and reading along! That's all we have for this week…check us out next week for more 411 Wrestling Fact or Fiction!
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in my opinion china has to stop doing that because is going to be a day when the whole world going to take china of the map.
Posted by luis | 18.11.09, 10:45 GMT