Bush admin never imagined tough Taliban resistance

Bush admin never imagined tough Taliban resistance

* Former US deputy secretary of state terms UK an unreliable partner in Afghanistan

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: The US did not assess and imagine the resistance being offered by the Taliban in Afghanistan, former US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte said on Friday.

Negroponte made these remarks while interacting with diplomats and foreign policy experts at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) think tank. The former key aide of the Bush administration confessed that dealing with Afghanistan and its nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan was the most tough assignment in his career, and revealed that former president George W Bush and the Pentagon believed that deposing the Taliban would solve all the problems of Afghanistan. “But they probably never imagined that they would struggle with the problem eight years later,” he said.

Unreliable partner: Negroponte, who also served as the US National Intelligence director, described the UK as an unreliable partner and said except for a few countries, most of the NATO members did not concentrate on the war in Afghanistan, because they never expected it to be so tough.

The former US deputy secretary of state was of the view that the US would not leave Afghanistan anytime soon “The last thing that the US would like to do is to leave Afghanistan to the Taliban as it is currently engaged in a major troop build up there,” he said.

Negroponte apprehended that the US might once again fall into a shell once the current phase of its involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq was over and said he was not clear that how long the US would stay in Afghanistan but he believed that the US would start the beginning of the disengagement process from mid 2011.

Speaking on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Negroponte said dealing with these two countries was the toughest assignment he had as the US deputy secretary of state. The former US National Intelligence director said now the situation was more complicated with the civilian government taking care of the economy and other issues while the army is handling the issues of national security.

Protests against inflated fares spread to Pindi

Protests against inflated fares spread to Pindi

* Rock-throwing protesters block main road to Islamabad airport
* Students demand release of arrested protesters
* Police fire warning shots, use tear gas to stop demonstrators
* UN team investigating Benazir’s assassination attacked by mob

By Mahtab Bashir

RAWALPINDI: A violent protest against inflated public transport fares spread from the federal capital to its twin city, Rawalpindi, on Friday as rock-throwing demonstrators in Islamabad blocked a main road leading to the airport and police fired warning shots and teargas to stop protesters.

Police said the violence prompted the government to rescind the fare increase late on Thursday, but the protests continued on Friday with students demanding the release of protesters arrested the day before. Protesters said more than a dozen students were in police custody, and complained that the rate list had not been revised for Rawalpindi.

Twin City Transport Union President Malik Sultan Awan told Daily Times, “There was no public transport on the roads of the twin cities because of the violent protests and a token strike.”

Awan said the increase in fares was “the only option left for the Punjab government and transporters”.

“The decision to increase the fares was made y the Punjab government ... how can the chief commissioner revise the rate list?” he questioned. He said a notification on the revised fares was only applicable in Islamabad.

In Rawalpindi, demonstrators took to the streets at around 10am and blocked Murree-Bhara Kahu Road, jamming traffic on Islamabad Expressway, IJ Principal Road and Murree Road. Enraged protesters blamed the administration for failing to rein in transporters charging inflated fares. Protesters burnt tyres, smashed windows of shops and vehicles, set ablaze a car and blocked roads. They also pelted police with stones, injuring at least nine policemen.

The number of protesters grew as the day passed and students from various colleges and universities joined the demonstrations. Policemen positioned on rooftops fired warning shots to disperse the crowds.

UN probe team: According to a private TV channel, the vehicle of a UN team investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto also came under a “mob attack” while en route to Islamabad. The UN team members – who had to turn around and return to the airport – have reportedly asked the US embassy to provide them protection.

Students from various colleges told Daily Times that they had planned “a peaceful protest” against increase in fares. According to them, they blocked the Faizabad interchange and Murree Road to register their protest and demand a review. Police in Islamabad also fired warning shots and baton charged demonstrators. Rubber bullets were also used to disperse crowds.

Dozens of protesters were injured in the twin cities. The Interior Ministry and law-enforcement agencies held meetings to review the situation in Bhara Kahu.

US will ‘do more and announce more’ for Pakistan: Holbrooke

US will ‘do more and announce more’ for Pakistan: Holbrooke

* US special envoy says strategic dialogue not possible without participation of army

LAHORE: US special representative Richard Holbrooke has indicated that the Obama administration would “do more and announce more” to assist Pakistan’s development in various fields.

Briefing the US State Department, Holbrooke said, “We are doing more, we will announce more, we want to do as much as the Congress will support, but Congress writes the cheques.”

The envoy praised Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani for deciding to participate in the upcoming round of strategic dialogue in the US. He said strategic dialogue was not possible without the participation of the army. He also praised the Pakistan Army for its successes against terrorists in Tribal Areas.

Holbrooke described the agenda for the strategic dialogue as the fight against al Qaeda and improved bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US.

He said the US would also discuss with the Pakistani delegation issues related to the distribution of water and power. “Beyond the strategic broad-range discussions, we want to move into operational things like water, energy,” he said.

The US envoy also praised the government for arresting Mullah Baradar.

Holbrooke said the dialogue in the US on March 24 – to be led by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi – “marks a major intensification in our relationship”.

He said US officials would visit Islamabad on the Pakistani government’s invitation for the next round of the strategic dialogue. He said the round of dialogue to be held in Pakistan would be meaningful and not a mere photo session. daily times monitor/app

Female Afghan police officer honoured by Hillary Clinton

KABUL — Col. Shafiqa Quraishi has an improbable dream. It is that, before too long, women will assume command positions in the Afghan National Police.

A policewoman for 28 years, Quraishi is a towering exception in a country where most women dare not leave their homes without their husband’s or father’s permission, and then only if cloaked from head-to-toe in the infamous, shapeless, anonymous, usually powder-blue dress known as a burka.

"No one will give your rights to you as a gift, you have to take them," Quraishi told about 300 women who, most unusually for Afghanistan, all had their faces uncovered at a recent ceremony to mark International Women’s Day.

"Who says women cannot do anything? We can do anything we want."

It is such brave talk, in a country where women are seldom seen, let alone heard, that led U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to name Quraishi, the scope of whose duties includes gender issues, women’s rights and children, as a winner of the 2010 International Woman of Courage Award.

International Women’s Day falls on Monday this year, but the Afghan event to honour women was scheduled early because Quraishi was off to Washington to personally receive the award from Clinton.

The award — one of 10 to be presented by the secretary — "symbolizes what Afghan women can achieve when they want," Quraishi said.

"It is not in our culture for women to advance themselves. This is our daily struggle."

Joining Quraishi at the women’s day ceremony was Brig.-Gen. Anne Macdonald. The highest ranking American woman serving with NATO here, the army officer said Quraishi confronted similar challenges to those faced by Macdonald’s generation three decades ago.

"The situation here reminds me of what it was like when I was at West Point in 1976," said Macdonald, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot who flew combat missions during the first Gulf War. "There were very few women in our armed forces then and a much different environment than today."

Canadian Maj.-Gen. Mike Ward, chief of NATO’s police mentoring program in Afghanistan, also likened what Quraishi and her colleagues in the Afghan National Police had to overcome to "when I was at (Royal Military College) between 1976 and 1980 and there were no women in my class.

"When women began to go there, they were treated brutally by some of their peers, so I am not surprised at the challenges that Afghan women in uniform face. Of course, it is exacerbated by other factors here. The life of an Afghan woman is very, very hard."

Although the Afghan National Police, which is often regarded as poorly trained and corrupt, is a much less respected institution than the Afghan National Army, Ward and Macdonald agreed that the police force, with nearly 1,000 women, was more progressive with gender issues than the Afghan army, which only has 200 women in uniform.

The Interior Ministry’s stated goal is to have 5,000 policewomen within five years.

"That may be too ambitious, but at least there is a goal," said Macdonald, who is the senior adviser to the ministry on police development. "Joining the police provides a great way for woman to become literate. It is also one of the few jobs here where women get the same pay as the men."

Even so, "you will have seen that there are few young policewomen," Ward said, referring to the mostly middle-aged policemen who attended the women’s day gathering. "They tend to be older and married because it is still considered a stain for a single woman to be in the police."

Always keen to change the cultural perception that Afghan women should have no role outside the home, Quraishi, whose husband and parents were strongly supportive of her career in the police, scolded many of the women in the audience for showing up as much as one hour late.

"By arriving so late today you give men an excuse to say that we are not as good as they are," Quraishi said. "We cannot give men such excuses. When we come into the picture, we have to work twice as hard as a man does."

Sparklehorse singer Mark Linkous dead

Singer and songwriter Mark Linkous, frontman for acclaimed U.S. indie band Sparklehorse, has died.

Rolling Stone magazine reported on its website Saturday that Linkous committed suicide.

"It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member Mark Linkous took his own life today," the family said in statement on the website.

"We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There's a heaven and there's a star for you."

Linkous released four albums with his band, known for a genre of music called ambient psych-folk.

He was also highly respected as an instrumentalist, and worked with the likes of Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and Danger Mouse.

'Died' in 1996

Linkous, who is believed to be in his 40s, had previously tempted death in the 1990s.

He was technically dead for two minutes after ingesting a dangerous mix of Valium and antidepressants while supporting Radiohead on tour in the U.K. in 1996.

The experience cut off circulation to his legs as he had been unconscious for 14 hours.

When doctors tried to straighten the limbs, he suffered a heart attack and he had surgery seven times to save his legs. He used a wheelchair for six months.

He went on with his band, releasing 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's A Wonderful Life and 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain.

Linkous also became a record producer and worked on Nina Persson's solo record, A Camp, and Daniel Johnston's Fear Yourself.

In 2009, Linkous made a multimedia collaboration album entitled Dark Night Of The Soulwith producer Danger Mouse, whose real name is Brian Burton, and the director David Lynch.

His manager confirms Linkous was about to finish the latest Sparklehorse album.

Gaza marks 1000th day of Israeli siege

GAZA CITY: As the crippling blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip enters its 1000th day, the head of the committee against the siege called for protests across the world against the cordon on Sunday.

"The siege harmed the people, as well as the environment, health, economy and social life. It constitutes a serious attempt to suffocate the people and destroy their will,” said Jamal Al-Khodari at Gaza City.

Al-Khodari announced that 500 Gazans have died as a result of the blockade, with one person dying every two days. Most of them are patients who were not able to receive appropriate medical treatment.

He pointed out that one million Gaza residents live on humanitarian aid from Arab or foreign countries and the United Nations.

"The Palestinian economy has been completely destroyed, as the number of unemployed reached more than 140,000, which amounts to 80 percent of Gaza's workforce," said Al-Khodari.

He claimed that the attitudes of Arab and foreign countries confirm that the blockade is unjust and violates the principles of international law.

“So these countries must bear responsibility and put real pressure on Israel, which should be held accountable for the situation and be made aware of the crimes it is perpetrating."

Following Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel closed all its commercial border crossing points into the territory.

Since then, the country only allowed humanitarian aid and limited vital supplies of basic food, fuel, medicine, construction materials and other supplies to be shipped in.

U.S. court rejects Canadian’s death-row appeal - but opens door to clemency

Ronald Smith, the only Canadian on death row in the United States, is one step closer to Montana’s execution chamber after an appeal court ruling that upheld his death sentence for the brutal murders of two American Indian men in 1982.

But Smith’s 25-year fight to avoid a lethal injection for his crime — which has revived the Canadian debate over capital punishment — could ultimately gain a boost from parts of the ruling made Friday, which highlighted his rehabilitation in prison, the “pitiful” failings of his initial defence lawyer and the power of Montana’s governor to grant clemency in the case.

In fact, the Seattle Ninth Circuit judges, who upheld Smith’s sentence in a 2-1 ruling, nevertheless appeared to send a message directly to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has the authority to commute the 52-year-old Canadian’s death penalty despite the failed appeal.

“By all accounts, Smith has reformed his life,” majority judges Sidney Thomas and Margaret McKeown stated in their decision.

“He has developed strong relationships with various members of his family and has taken advantage of the educational opportunities offered by the prison that houses him. He has expressed deep regret for his deplorable actions.”

The judges noted, however, that “consideration of these issues are beyond our jurisdiction in this case. Clemency claims are committed to the wisdom of the executive branch.”

Mark Warren, a Canadian human-rights specialist who has testified on Smith’s behalf, told Canwest News Service on Sunday that the “extraordinary” phrasing of the judges’ ruling is a silver lining in the rejected appeal.

“In 20 years of reviewing death-penalty decisions, I’ve never seen more surprising language than the final paragraph in the Smith opinion,” he said. “The court signalled as clearly as it could that Ron Smith should be granted clemency by the governor of Montana.”

Smith, from Red Deer, Alta., initially asked to be executed after confessing to the murders of Harvey Mad Man and Thomas Running Rabbit during a drugs-and-alcohol-fuelled hitchhiking trip to the United States with two Canadian friends.

Smith later claimed that depression, fear and bad legal advice had prompted his prison death wish, and he began trying to avoid execution with help from Canadian government officials.

The clemency issue shot into the Canadian political spotlight in October 2007 when Canwest News Service revealed that the Conservative government was abruptly ending years of efforts by this country’s diplomats to convince Montana’s top politician to commute Smith’s death sentence.

Canadian government officials at the time said they were "not going to seek clemency in cases in democratic countries, like the United States, where there has been a fair trial."

But the new hands-off policy, defended at the time by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as consistent with his government’s tough-on-crime policies, was ruled “unlawful” last year by the Federal Court of Canada, which ordered federal officials to restart their lobbying effort to prevent Smith’s execution.

The government later agreed to re-launch the clemency bid, but Smith’s lawyers indicated last year that a renewed push to convince Schweitzer to commute the death sentence would likely only begin in earnest after the Ninth Circuit appeal was decided.

Now, because of the court’s split decision and the life-and-death issues involved in the Smith case, his legal team is expected to seek an “en banc” review of Friday’s ruling by a wider panel of Ninth Circuit judges.

A further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is also an option, but history suggests Smith stands little chance of winning there.

For now, only Schweitzer’s intervention could halt the momentum toward Smith’s execution.

“The message for the Canadian government in this decision is that only clemency can remedy the glaring legal flaws in Ron Smith’s case,” said Warren. "It’s time for the Canadian government to step forward and do everything possible to pave the way for clemency."

While the two majority judges confirmed Smith’s death penalty, they acknowledged the initial lawyer for the drug-and-alcohol-addicted Canadian provided sub-standard legal representation in the months following the killings.

“We hold that Smith’s defence attorney’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness,” the prevailing judges ruled, “because he failed to investigate the facts of the crime, failed to investigate Smith’s mental state at the time of the crime, and failed to discuss possible defences before Smith pled guilty.”

Yet they concluded the lawyer’s failures weren’t egregious enough to scuttle Smith’s death sentence.

The third judge, however, backed Smith’s “ineffective counsel” claims and said in her dissenting opinion that the “alarmingly poor performance” of the Canadian’s lawyer in the early 1980s demanded that no execution be carried out.

“We must keep in mind that this is a capital case,” concluded Judge Betty Fletcher. “Because of the high stakes involved, our confidence is more easily shaken by unreasonable errors by trial counsel.”

The dissenting judge added: “Smith has suffered 27 years on death row, living in solitary confinement and under the constant threat of execution. . . . Executing Smith after all this time would go far beyond what is necessary to satisfy society’s moral outrage over his horrible crimes.”

Oscar forecast: Jeff Simon makes his predictions

By Jeff Simon Arts Editor, The Buffalo News, N.Y.

Mar. 7--It didn't register at all on the national water cooler the next day. But it was, without doubt, the most emotionally revealing moment at the Golden Globes.

Jeff Bridges had just accepted the Best Actor prize, as he's almost certainly going to do tonight at the Oscars.

The camera switched to George Clooney at the "Up in the Air" table, where Clooney was leaning forward with a valiant but melancholy Good Sport smile on his face. Next to him, his girlfriend Elizabetta Canalis was tenderly massaging his back in a traditional partner gesture whose message couples everywhere understood: "It's OK, honey. It should have been your year, but obviously it's not. It's Jeff Bridges' year. I love you anyway."

In other words, no matter how extraordinary his star turn was in Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," the biggest shot he may ever get at an Oscar was going to come up for naught.

There's a certain kind of performance the Oscars simply don't recognize, and tonight's 82nd edition is going to be no different. Just as Cary Grant had to wait for a Life Achievement Oscar, so too may George Clooney, despite the fact that his charm is entirely responsible for "Up in the Air" existing at all and the only reason that people were able to watch a whole movie about a superficial, status-seeking corporate hatchet man as if it were a romantic comedy with a very sharp edge, and not an angry diatribe.

No praise is too high for what Clooney did in "Up in the Air," no matter how easy it is to take for granted. So that sweet, intimate, reassuring back rub might as well have been telling him "You'll get your Oscar someday, honey. Just keep on being you and they've got to give you a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Oscar sometime in the next 10 years. And keep on making movies as good as 'Michael Clayton' and 'Up in the Air' every few years and they'll give you a Lifetime Achievement Award before checkout time. So you'll be in the same company as Cary Grant, Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock. Not bad, you know?"

Exes square off

It is, of course, another couple -- former couple, that is -- that is the big story at tonight's Oscars: directors James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, who were married from 1989 to 1991 and now face off with their films -- Cameron's "Avatar," the highest-grossing film of all time, and Bigelow's mini-grossing "The Hurt Locker," the only film about the Iraq War that has been unanimously praised by people of every political stripe.

Cameron went on, after an amicable divorce, to marry two more times, Bigelow never again. But the subtexts are flying in this contest, and history is likely to be made tonight. How?

1. A woman -- Bigelow -- is almost certain to win the award for Best Director for the first time.

2. The entire film community of Los Angeles may get up on its hind legs and tell the world "we don't give a fig about all that 'Avatar' money. If it means we have to give another Oscar to Jammes Cameron -- for any reason whatsoever -- we'll pass, thank you. It's better news for the universe if we give all possible Cameron Oscars tonight to his ex-wife."

The joy of ignoring Cameron despite all that filthy lucre, visual beauty and technological innovation, may be an international statement from America almost on par with electing Barack Obama. You have to admit, this year is going to be good fun, no matter what happens. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin can't hurt either, as co-hosts.

My Oscar picks began with a correct "say what?" call of "The Sting" as Best Film winner in 1973. Lately, my batting average has been edging up to .750 and better, but this year -- with 10 nominees for Best Picture (like the old days) and an impossible-to-predict Best Actress contest -- things are bound to go way south. But here's how the awards look to me:

1. Best Picture. Nominees: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious," "A Serious Man," "Up," "Up in the Air."

Ten nominees? Sure, why not? It's the way the Oscars originally did things, and this way, no big crowd-pleaser like "The Dark Knight" (in the past) gets absurdly overlooked. It's a decent list with a couple of happy surprises -- "District 9" and "A Serious Man" -- and one not so happy, "The Blind Side."

The core of five that would have been nominated under the old rules was obvious: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious" and "Up in the Air." (In a perfect world, "Up" would have replaced "Basterds.")

Here's where things get a touch tricky with 10 nominees: In any other year, the brilliantly suspenseful "The Hurt Locker" might well edge out all that "Avatar" money and techno-dazzle. But with voters going every which way, undeserving drek like "Basterds" could sneak up on the rail if the Tarantino faithful remain solid.

Will it happen? Nah. I think the world will celebrate a new America with "The Hurt Locker."

If money worship and "Avatar" defeat widespread Cameron-phobia, prepare to throw pillows at your TV. If it's "Up in the Air," prepare to be saying "wow" repeatedly for a while.

2. Best Actor. Nominees: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."

Almost a sure thing: Bridges for "Crazy Heart." He's won everything else so far and for a very simple reason: this is the feel-good award of the night. He's been that good in movies for that long a time. And he's from a popular showbiz family. How much more awardable can one actor possibly get?

3. Best Actress. Nominees: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"; and Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia."

The toughest award of the night. It was mind-boggling that fellow actors chose Bullock over Streep at the SAG Awards. Who says Miss Congeniality never triumphs? She is then, somewhat incredibly, the favorite tonight because actors comprise the largest single voting bloc.

But what if -- just what if -- enough people have seen "The Last Station" and can't decide between Bullock and Streep? Helen Mirren would actually have a shot.

This one is anybody's guess. The smart money says Bullock, which isn't as bad news as you might think. She'll either be sweet and funny accepting it or genuinely touching. Either way, the moment will be nice. If it's Streep, everybody knows how good her acceptance speeches are. It's win/win.

4. Best Supporting Actor. Nominees: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones"; and Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

Waltz has danced off with every award thus far and there's no reason to think he won't again tonight. ("Basterds" isn't likely to win anything else all night, thank heaven.) But it's a very good category. If, somehow, Plummer or Woody Harrelson sneak in under cover of darkness and steal the thing, the news would be good.

Not likely.

5. Best Supporting Actress. Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious."

Almost a gimme -- Mo'Nique for "Precious." Anyone who sees the film understands why. She's that hair-raisingly good. It's the only big thing an entirely surprising film is likely to win all night. If Penelope Cruz hadn't already won an Oscar, she'd have been tougher competition for "Nine." But in 2010, Mo'Nique is a virtual lock.

6. Best Director. Cameron, "Avatar"; Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"; Lee Daniels, "Precious"; and Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air."

History is likely to be made. It may not necessarily be for the right reason -- because she really deserves the prize (which, in fact, she does) -- but still Kathryn Bigelow is likely to be the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar. She's already won the Directors Guild Award, and people were mightily pleased at that, no matter how aloof she can be.

"The Hurt Locker," to some of us, was 2009's best movie by far. So why not, for pity's sake?

7. Best Adapted Screenplay. Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"; Nick Hornby, "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong et. al., "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious"; and Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for "Up in the Air."

An easy prize. "Up in the Air" is the movie that deserves it. And this, too, is its evening consolation prize for all those Oscars that could have been but won't be.

8. Best Original Screenplay. Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglorious Basterds"; Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon, "The Messenger"; Joel and Ethan Coen "A Serious Man"; and Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Tom McCarthy, "Up."

Another gimme for "The Hurt Locker." Boal already won the Writers Guild award.

9. Best Song. "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans" by Randy Newman for "The Princess and the Frog"; "Loin de Paname" by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas for "Paris 36"; "Take It All" by Maury Yeston from "Nine"; and "The Weary Kind" by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett from "Crazy Heart."

An honorable sure thing in a usually absurd and disgraceful category: "The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart." Everybody wants to congratulate T-Bone Burnett just for being T-Bone Burnett -- all the better in Ryan Bingham's company. If only Stephen Bruton had lived long enough to soak up some of the leftover love the movie will earn.

10. Best Animated Film. "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," "The Secret of Kells," and "Up."

Some of the most truly moving scenes in the entire American movie year were in "Up." Also, some of the most whimsical. It's just a great film and no award it gets could possibly be gratuitous.

11. Cinematography. "Avatar," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," and "The White Ribbon."

"Avatar." Even here, for entirely different reasons, "The Hurt Locker" is not an impossibility, just an enormous unlikelihood.

12. Film Editing. "Avatar," "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Precious."

A sure thing for "Avatar." Or is it? Wait a minute. Magnificent editing is what makes "The Hurt Locker" the movie that it is. "Avatar" will probably win, but "The Hurt Locker" deserves it.

13. Foreign Film. "Ajami" from Israel, "The Milk of Sorrow" from Peru, "A Prophet" from France, "The Secret in Their Eyes" from Argentina and "White Ribbon" from Germany.

Not enough people are likely to have seen a sufficient number of Michael Haneke films to want to give an Oscar to almost ANYONE else. If they have, expect "The Prophet." If they haven't, ""White Ribbon" is the smart money choice.

14. Original Score. James Horner for "Avatar," Alexandre Desplat for "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders for "The Hurt Locker," Hans Zimmer for "Sherlock Holmes" and Michael Giacchino for "Up."

A rotten category. No one deserves it. Horner is the likelihood.

15. Art Direction. "Avatar," "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Nine," "Sherlock Holmes" and "The Young Victoria."

By all means, let the "Avatar" techies get their due and not pretend the movie deserves anything else.

16. Costume Design. "Bright Star," "Coco Before Chanel," "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Nine" and "Young Victoria."

So who gets this as a consolation prize for not winning anything else: "Young Victoria?" "Nine?" Neither, probably. How can they ignore a movie about Coco Chanel in a costume category?

jsimon@buffnews.com

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Top medal of visual arts handed to influential Iranian artists

Top medal of visual arts handed to influential Iranian artists
Tehran Times Art Desk

TEHRAN – The top medal of visual arts was handed to seven influential Iranian artists during the closing ceremony of the 2nd Fajr Visual Arts Festival here on Saturday at Vahdat Hall.

Late sculptor Ali-Akbar Sanati and late calligrapher Ayatollah Morteza Nojumi were among the influential veteran artists who were named to receive the medal.

Painter Mahmud Javadipur, researcher Abbas Jamalpur, cartoonist Mohammad-Hossein Nirumand, ceramist Mohammad-Mehdi Qanbeigi, and photographer Ahmad Nateqi were the other artists who received the top medal from Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini.

Afterwards, the winners of the 2nd Fajr Visual Arts Festival were announced. About 2500 paintings, sculptures, pottery, miniatures, photos, calligraphy works and cartoons competed in the festival which ran from February 1 to 10.

The artistic creations were showcased at exhibitions that opened in Tehran and in the provinces of Khuzestan, Semnan, Yazd and Golestan.

Tehran’s Saba Art and Cultural Institute and the Niavaran Cultural Center were the main venues which hosted the festival.

Senior presidential adviser Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, several cultural officials and MPs were also present at the ceremony.

Next, the awards were presented to the first, second and third place winners in each of the different categories. First place winners are as the following:

*Sculpture: Msumeh Rusta

* Pottery: Keivan Fahari

* Miniature: Mohammadreza Aqamiri

* Illumination: Leila Abbasi

* Calligraphy (naskh): Mohammad-Ali Qorbani

* Calligraphy (nastaliq): Ali Fakhari

* Calligraphy (sols): Hossein Najafi

* Calligraphy-painting: Mohsen Tavassoli

* Photography: Esmaeil Musavi

* Cartoon: Samaneh Neisani

No first place winner was announced at the painting and the calligraphy sections, only a selected listed of competitors were honored.

Caption: Veteran ceramist Mohammad-Mehdi Qanbeigi is receiving a top medal of visual arts from culture minister Hosseini. (Fars/Mehdi Marizad

World stocks extend gains on upbeat U.S. jobs news

LONDON (AP) -– World stock markets rose sharply Friday after better than expected U.S. jobs data reassured investors that the recovery in the world's largest economy remains on track.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 72.60 points, or 1.3 percent, at 5,599.76, while Germany's DAX rose 82.04 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,877.36. The CAC-40 in France ended 82.01 points, or 2.1 percent, higher at 3,910.42.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 85.93 points, or 0.8 percent, at 10,530.07 around midday New York time, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.10 points, or 1 percent, to 1,134.07.

The buying momentum was fueled by the news that the U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in February as employers shed fewer jobs than expected — the consensus in the markets was for a rise to 9.8 percent.

The Labor Department also said employers shed 36,000 jobs, below analysts' expectations of 50,000. “The upshot was a fresh injection of confidence all round,” said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.

The monthly payrolls data, which often set the stock market tone for a week or two following their release, also contributed to big dollar gains against the yen, as investors priced in a greater probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start raising borrowing costs sooner than predicted. Against the euro, the dollar fared less well as the single European currency continued to be supported by relief that Thursday's euro5 billion ($6.8 billion) bond auction in Greece ran smoothly.

“With the dollar being treated as the anti-euro, expect the dollar to be driven more by European news than by U.S. economic fundamentals in the coming week,” said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon.

The bond auction has reined in market expectations that a meeting later between Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will yield anything substantially new apart from ongoing vocal support for the Greek government's latest batch of austerity measures, announced on Wednesday.

Ahead of the meeting, the euro was up 0.3 percent at $1.3617 while the dollar was 1.6 percent firmer at 90.43 yen.

Earlier in Asia, speculation that Japan was mulling extra measures to shore up its recovery added to the upbeat mood. According to a media report, the Bank of Japan might ease monetary policies to keep money flowing through the economy as soon as this month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 223.24 points, or 2.2 percent, to 10,368.96.

“Investors welcomed the (Bank of Japan) report,” said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity strategist at Daiwa SMBC Securities Co. Ltd. “Investors were speculating that further easing could help the yen weaken.”

A soft yen helps Japanese exporters by boosting the value of their repatriated profits and making their goods more competitively priced abroad.

In greater China, Hong Kong's market rose 1 percent to 20,787.97 and Shanghai's market gained 0.3 percent to 3,031.06 as investors focused on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's annual policy address.