Sunday, May 23, 2010

“Military Families Offered Free Admission to Museums - NBC Philadelphia” plus 3 more

“Military Families Offered Free Admission to Museums - NBC Philadelphia” plus 3 more

Military Families Offered Free Admission to Museums - NBC Philadelphia

Posted: 23 May 2010 02:50 PM PDT

List includes art museums, science centers and children's museums

By BRETT ZONGKER
Updated 5:52 PM EDT, Sun, May 23, 2010

More than 600 museums nationwide are offering free admission to military families all summer in a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

The list includes some of the nation's premier art museums, including New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as science centers, children's museums and other sites in all 50 states.

The program, called Blue Star Museums, is being announced Monday in San Diego, where 14 museums will participate.

It was the brainchild of Kathy Roth-Douquet, chairwoman of the group Blue Star Families. Her husband, Marine Corps Col. Greg Douquet, is on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

She says military bases are sometimes far from cultural centers, though museums can be a good escape.
 

First Published: May 23, 2010 4:32 PM EDT

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Continued: Muslim women fight cultural barriers, bans on head scarves ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 19 May 2010 02:16 AM PDT

Saudi Arabia, for instance, does not allow women to participate in the Olympics and the once-banned Kuwaiti soccer team was denounced on its return from the WAFF tournament by conservative lawmakers who want a ban on all international competitions. In Iraq, a women's wrestling club disbanded last year after receiving death threats from religious groups.

Then there is growing debate on the wearing of head scarves at sporting events. While rugby, volleyball and taekwondo federations allow them, FIFA has resisted lifting a ban — standing by rules designed for safety but seen by Muslims as discriminatory.

Last month, FIFA initially blocked the Iranian girls' soccer team from competing in this summer's inaugural Youth Olympics over their insistence on wearing head scarves — which some Muslims say protects the modesty of Islamic girls and women. FIFA allowed them back in this month after the team agreed to wear a cap that covers their hair.

"Despite the growth in participation rates, the biggest challenges remain legal prohibitions, social stigma and limited opportunity," said Meghan O. Mahoney, an expert on women's sports at Northeastern University's Sport in Society.

Formed in 2004 by a handful of young women in love with the game, the UAE team operated in name only for the first several years. Then in 2008, the group hired Australian Connie Selby, who instituted regular practices and games with opponents from other parts of the country and tours of Europe.

Their victory over Jordan in February raised the team's profile and turned many of the players into local celebrities.

But on a balmy night at the team's new practice field, a gift of the government located in the shadow of a men's soccer stadium, the limit of their newfound success was easy to see.

Selby, a 50-year-old former Australian national team captain, was running out of patience. She had spent the day gearing up for the intense passing drills and scrimmage. By the time practice was set to start, only Ahmed and another player had bothered to show up. Practice had to be scrapped.

"I've been getting text messages all day from players saying they can't come, they can't come," said a frustrated Selby, who before taking the UAE job coached in Australia and headed women's soccer in the Oceanian Football Confederation.

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Patrick attends Boston Muslim meeting - WHDH.com

Posted: 22 May 2010 08:49 PM PDT

Black box found after fiery India plane crash

MANGALORE, India -- As crash investigators pulled the black box from the charred, twisted wreckage of an Air India plane Sunday, Koolikkunnu Krishnan marveled that he escaped the...

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13-year-old US pianist playing with Iraq orchestra - Las Vegas Sun

Posted: 23 May 2010 12:46 AM PDT

The Associated Press

Sunday, May 23, 2010 | 12:48 a.m.

BAGHDAD _ A 13-year-old piano prodigy from Los Angeles made a rare guest appearance with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra in Baghdad on Saturday as the city struggles to revive its once-vibrant cultural scene.

Llewellyn Kingman Sanchez Werner, who studies piano and composition at New York's renowned Juilliard School, arrived in the Iraqi capital Friday for the first time with his mother and father and admitted he was a little scared.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Llewellyn told The Associated Press in an interview, describing his heavily guarded trip past blast walls, concertina wire and checkpoints on the way from the airport to the city's Rasheed Hotel in the heavily protected Green Zone.

"I've never had a bulletproof vest on before and a helmet and all this protection," said the slim, energetic teenager with long, wavy brown hair and a warm smile. "Honestly, before I got here, I was a little scared. But as soon as I arrived, I felt safe in a way."

He says he has been following the news and knows he is in a war zone, but hopes he can "break ground" with his performance Saturday evening at the Rasheed.

"Music is a way to connect. I'd like to bring Americans and Iraqis closer together," he said. "I'm excited to make a difference. It's a wonderful orchestra playing music against all odds."

Llewellyn is playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," and a piano concerto by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

The teen's father, Llewellyn Werner and his California-based private investment firm have been working in Iraq alongside the U.S. Department of Defense for three years. He met the conductor of the Iraqi orchestra and proposed that his son come over to play with them.

"My son leaped at the opportunity enthusiastically," he said. "He came here with absolute fearlessness because he believes the music brings down barriers."

Karim Wasfi, the chief conductor and director of the orchestra, joked about the difficulties of getting 90 musicians and their instruments through multiple checkpoints in the dangerous city.

"I am amazed how easy it is for bombs to move around Baghdad and how difficult it is to transport musical instruments," he quipped.

The national orchestra collapsed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq when musicians fled to neighboring countries. But Wasfi reconstructed it in 2005 with 50 musicians and it has now grown to 90.

He said he wanted to keep Iraqi musicians from fleeing sectarian violence during the war.

"I did not want to see them play in bars and at weddings in neighboring countries," Wasfi said. "I was looking for ways to make them stay."

"Even at the height of the sectarian violence, I convinced members of the orchestra to play and practice," Wasfi said. "We'll perform no matter what happens so people have a sense of normalcy."

They perform twice monthly in Baghdad and do concerts around Iraq, but Wasfi said the orchestra has never had an American guest performer.

Cultural life in Iraq has largely died down during violence and reviving it was not the government's priority. But that is slowly changing.

The government has allocated $120,000 for the orchestra's operational budget and approved the building of Baghdad's Opera house. The national theater is being renovated.

"I have decided not to let the political and security situation affect our dedication to restoring Iraq's cultural life," Wasfi said.

Wasfi's guest performer has traveled extensively around the world to perform, his parents said. Last year, he played a private concern in Rwanda for the president's family.

Llewellyn was fascinated with music from a very young age and began learning piano at 2. He composed his first piece at 5, and began college studies at the same age, his parents said.

He debuted with an orchestra as a piano soloist at age 6 and was also a full-time college student taking advanced music theory courses at that age.

He has a college degree in music and is about to complete another. He is finishing up his third year at Juilliard.

His mother, Martha Sanchez Werner, said her son did not hesitate, and neither did she, when the chance to play Baghdad surfaced.

"I have and I believe my son has a very strong sense of social commitment," she said.

Her son also has strong opinions on the U.S. role in Iraq.

"I don't want to be shallow. I know there are strong feelings out there," he said of the Iraqis.

"Several mistakes from my country have been made in terms of invasion and occupation. But me being here today is one way to show the U.S. has a lot of wonderful things to offer."

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