Hotel giant Marriott International Inc. said Wednesday that second-quarter earnings rose as business and leisure travelers continued to book hotel rooms and paid slightly more for them.
Marriott, based in Bethesda, Md., earned $179 million, or 57 cents a share, in the three-month period ended June 30. That's up from $143 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.
A change in the company's fiscal year meant seven extra days in the quarter this year compared to last year.
Revenue rose 18 percent to $3.26 billion.
Analysts expected earnings of 57 cents per share and revenue of $3.20 billion, according to FactSet.
The company's revenue per available room ? or REVPAR ? was $129.59, up 4.4 percent from the prior year. That key figure increased thanks to slightly higher occupancies and a 3 percent gain in the rates charged to guests.
"Both business and leisure transient demand were strong in the quarter, more than offsetting weak short-term group business," Arne M. Sorenson, Marriott president and CEO, said in a statement.
"As occupancy rates reach 2007 peak levels for many brands, room rates are moving higher, improving hotel profitability and incentive fees," Sorenson said.
Marriott now expects its revenue per available room to increase 4 to 6 percent worldwide for the full year, down from its outlook last quarter for growth of 4 to 7 percent.
The company expects its annual earnings per share to be $1.92 to $2.03, slightly lower than Wall Street analysts' estimate of $2.04. Marriott's stock fell about 2.6 percent in after-hours trading. It gained 18 cents to $41.57 in the regular session.
Marriott doesn't own most of the hotels in its system but makes money off either managing or franchising its 18 brands. Those include Ritz-Carlton, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard, SpringHill Suites and Renaissance.
Marriott added 43 new properties, with a total of 6,203 rooms, to its worldwide lodging portfolio in the quarter. Eighteen properties, with 3,225 rooms, exited the system. As of June 30, the company was responsible for 3,847 properties and timeshare resorts globally with more than 666,000 rooms.
The company's worldwide pipeline of hotels under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development increased to nearly 850 properties with more 140,000 rooms.
AFP - A tortoise was denied boarding at an airport in China after its owner's attempt to sneak it through security checks in a KFC burger failed, state media said Wednesday.
Security staff at Baiyun airport in the southern city of Guangzhou saw "suspicious corners" on X-ray images of a bag passing through security, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
They asked the passenger, identified only by his surname Li, to open the bag.
Li initially insisted there was "nothing but a burger" inside, but after persistent questioning admitted the KFC package contained a tortoise, it said.
He said he came up with the trick because he wanted to travel with his "beloved tortoise", the report added.
Chinese use the same character to refer to tortoises, turtles and terrapins and it was not clear what precise type of chelonian was involved.
Li had to leave the animal with a friend and fly to Beijing alone, the newspaper said.
China strengthened air security and banned passengers from carrying liquids exceeding certain limits on domestic flights in 2008 after it foiled an alleged attempt to deliberately crash a plane flying to Beijing from Urumqi, capital of the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang.
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Forget about the best record in baseball, the lead in the NL Central and the buzz of a city giddily envisioning the end of two decades of despair.
After a euphoric doubleheader sweep of reeling St. Louis on Tuesday that propelled them to the top of the division, the Pittsburgh Pirates ? yes, the Pirates ? are ready to get greedy.
"We want more," manager Clint Hurdle said.
Keep pitching like this, and that shouldn't be a problem.
Three hours after Alex Presley's grounder caromed off the glove of St. Louis reliever Kevin Siegrist and rolled into shallow left field to give the Pirates a taut 2-1, 11-inning victory in the opener, the Pirates breezed to a 6-0 victory in the second game behind rookie starter Brandon Cumpton.
Working with usual Triple-A battery mate Tony Sanchez ? making his major league debut ? Cumpton (1-1) scattered three hits over seven innings to extend the Cardinals' losing streak to a season-high six straight games.
"Pitching inside has been my thing all year," Cumpton said. "I didn't want to get away from it. I wanted to force the issue."
All it did was compound the issues for St. Louis, which has scored all of five runs in the last 56 innings. Even worse, catcher Yadier Molina is likely headed to the disabled list after leaving in the top of the fourth inning of the second game with a sprained right knee.
The knee has been bothering the All-Star for weeks. An MRI earlier this month revealed inflammation. After trying to play through it, Molina believes the better course of action is some rest so he can be ready for the stretch drive.
"I'm a guy who wants to be on the field playing," Molina said. "But right now I need time."
The injury is the latest setback for a team that appeared the class of the majors at the All-Star break but now finds itself 1? games behind the resilient Pirates. The sweep pushed Pittsburgh to a season-high 22 games over .500 (64-42). The last time their record was this gaudy was 1992, which also happens to be the last time the beleaguered franchise reached the postseason.
It's a destination that appears well within the Pirates' reach, even if they opt to keep their wallets closed at Wednesday's trading deadline. A pitching staff that keeps topping itself has allowed the Pirates to overcome a series of injuries.
Cumpton didn't even spend any time with the big league club during spring training. On Tuesday he found himself polishing off arguably the biggest day at PNC Park since it opened in 2001.
"Coming out of spring, (Cumpton) was 13th on our starting pitching depth chart," Hurdle said. "You trust the people that are working with the players and they've been confident about Brandon's improvement."
It's a rise that took a little while longer than St. Louis rookie Tyler Lyons (2-4), though the right-hander has cooled off since winning his first two starts in spectacular fashion earlier this year.
Lyons gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings. He struck out five and walked one but received no help from a reeling offense and some sloppy play in the field.
A couple hours after Presley's slapper off Siegrist (0-1) won the opener, the fortuitous bounces kept on coming. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second when a rare passed ball by Molina let Jose Tabata sprint across the plate. Molina was done for the night in the top of the fourth when the right knee pain he's been battling for the better part of a month flared up again. He was replaced by Rob Johnson.
The absence of their leader further weakened the Cardinals, and things quickly fell apart.
While Cumpton kept the NL's top offense in check, Pittsburgh poured it on with a little help from St. Louis left fielder Matt Holliday. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on Jordy Mercer's RBI single before McCutchen stepped in. He drilled Lyons' pitch deep to left but Holliday appeared ready to track it down at the wall. Instead, the ball popped off the heel of Holliday's glove and into the stands.
Lyons placed both hands on his head in shock while the packed bleachers let Holliday have it. Holliday's night didn't get any better an inning later when he overran Josh Harrison's flyball to the wall, allowing Harrison to make it all the way to third.
"It's a hard game," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "Our guys have been making a lot of good plays. Every once in a while there's tough ones you don't make."
Harrison never made it home, but by then Cumpton had all the backing he would require.
Cumpton needed just 87 pitches to get 21 outs. He received a loud ovation as he headed to the dugout, the latest in a series of unheralded Pirates pitchers to rise from obscurity and help propel the franchise into the midst of a pennant race.
The staff takes its cue from ace A.J. Burnett, who worked seven emotional innings in the opener. Burnett struck out nine and walked three while allowing one run on three hits. He was long gone, however, by the time Presley stepped in with Martin on in the 11th.
"It's a battle, it's fun," Burnett said. "Let's roll from here. Let's keep going."
NOTES: The series continues on Thursday. Adam Wainright (13-6, 2.51 ERA) starts for the Cardinals against Jeff Locke (9-3, 2.15) ... St. Louis sent struggling reliever Marc Rzepczynski to Cleveland on Tuesday in exchange for minor league infielder Juan Herrera. Rzepczynski had a 7.84 ERA in 10 1-3 innings this season with the Cardinals ... Pirates 2009 first-round pick Tony Sanchez went 0 for 3 with an RBI in his first major league start at catcher.
TUESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) ? Wide fluctuations in blood pressure may be associated with memory and thinking difficulties in older adults already at high risk for heart disease, a new European study suggests.
Regardless of average blood pressure, ?high variability in blood pressure may lead to mental impairment,? said lead researcher Dr. Simon Mooijaart, director of the Institute for Evidence-Based Medicine in Old Age in Leiden, the Netherlands.
The three-year study, published July 30 in the online edition of the BMJ, involved more than 5,000 seniors, average age 75.
Fluctuating blood pressure has previously been linked with an increased risk of stroke, and evidence is mounting that factors that disrupt blood flow to the brain contribute to dementia?s development and progression, the researchers noted.
However, because the study shows only an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship, Mooijaart cautioned that it is still too early to make definitive claims about blood pressure inconsistency and mental decline.
?It?s an interesting association, because it might very well be causal,? he said. If it is causal, controlling these fluctuations with blood pressure medication might help reduce the risk of dementia, Mooijaart added. But further research is needed, the study authors noted.
?It?s very important to keep your vasculature healthy to prevent detrimental effects to your body,? Mooijaart said.
Another heart expert agreed.
?Variability in blood pressure readings has been shown to be associated with greater risk of heart attack and stroke, independent of average blood pressure readings,? said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
Blood pressure medications can reduce fluctuations and lower the risk of cardiovascular events, stroke and, some studies suggest, decline in mental function, he added.
?Physicians and patients with hypertension should increase focus on keeping blood pressure levels consistently at goal levels minimizing, to the extent possible, fluctuations in blood pressure,? Fonarow said.
To gauge the effect of blood pressure changes on mental ability, Mooijaart?s team collected data on more than 5,400 men and women, aged 70 to 82, who took part in the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk. That study, conducted by centers in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, looked at whether lowering cholesterol protected people at risk for heart disease.
Over three years of follow-up, participants? blood pressure was checked every three months. Researchers looked at the variability in those readings and tested participants? mental functioning. Specific tests evaluated attention, reaction time and memory.
Mooijaart?s team found that people whose blood pressure varied from visit to visit performed worse on all of the tests than those with stable readings. These results persisted after the researchers accounted for cardiovascular disease and average blood pressure.
But Mooijaart said it isn?t clear whether blood pressure variability is a cause or consequence of impaired mental function.
Several explanations may exist for this connection, he said. It?s possible that blood pressure variability and mental impairment both result from cardiovascular risk factors. Or blood pressure variability might be a sign of long-term instability in blood flow to vital organs. Another possibility is that blood pressure fluctuations could deprive the brain of blood, which might lead to poorer mental functioning, Mooijaart noted.
More information
For more information on blood pressure, visit the American Heart Association.
Looking for a (slightly) less conspicuous take on the 3DS XL? If you live in the US or Canada, you'll get it when the all-black version of Nintendo's giant handheld reaches those countries on August 11th. Don't expect any bonuses with the subtler color, though. The darker-hued 3DS XL costs the same $200 as before, and it's virtually identical to the Japanese version that launched last fall. It's shipping at the same time as Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, however, which makes it a decent consolation prize for gamers who can't get a Luigi edition 3DS LL to call their own.
Source: www.ft.com --- Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Baidu issues first $1bn Chinese corporate bond since May, the second Chinese bond this week and the latest indication Asian activity is picking up ...
The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to continue to be active in?rebuilding?their roster and have the ability to facilitate trades due to having the most cap space in the NBA.
"We will be an attractive trading partner for teams around the league all year - not just for players, but for the cap room that we have," Sam Hinkie said.
The 76ers are approximately $16.6 million under the cap for this season and could have as much as $36 million available next summer.
"That kind of flexibility will give us real options," Hinkie said.
Study finds evidence of nerve damage in around half of fibromyalgia patientsPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mike Morrison mdmorrison@partners.org 617-724-6425 Massachusetts General Hospital
Small study could lead to identification of treatable diseases for some with chronic pain syndrome
About half of a small group of patients with fibromyalgia a common syndrome that causes chronic pain and other symptoms was found to have damage to nerve fibers in their skin and other evidence of a disease called small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN). Unlike fibromyalgia, which has had no known causes and few effective treatments, SFPN has a clear pathology and is known to be caused by specific medical conditions, some of which can be treated and sometimes cured. The study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers will appear in the journal Pain and has been released online.
"This provides some of the first objective evidence of a mechanism behind some cases of fibromyalgia, and identifying an underlying cause is the first step towards finding better treatments," says Anne Louise Oaklander, MD, PhD, director of the Nerve Injury Unit in the MGH Department of Neurology and corresponding author of the Pain paper.
The term fibromyalgia describes a set of symptoms including chronic widespread pain, increased sensitivity to pressure, and fatigue that is believed to affect 1 to 5 percent of individuals in Western countries, more frequently women. While a diagnosis of fibromyalgia has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Rheumatology, its biologic basis has remained unknown. Fibromyalgia shares many symptoms with SFPN, a recognized cause of chronic widespread pain for which there are accepted, objective tests.
Designed to investigate possible connections between the two conditions, the current study enrolled 27 adult patients with fibromyalgia diagnoses and 30 healthy volunteers. Participants went through a battery of tests used to diagnose SFPN, including assessments of neuropathy based on a physical examination and responses to a questionnaire, skin biopsies to evaluate the number of nerve fibers in their lower legs, and tests of autonomic functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and sweating.
The questionnaires, exam assessments, and skin biopsies all found significant levels of neuropathy in the fibromyalgia patients but not in the control group. Of the 27 fibromyalgia patients, 13 had a marked reduction in nerve fiber density, abnormal autonomic function tests or both, indicating the presence of SFPN. Participants who met criteria for SFPN also underwent blood tests for known causes of the disorder, and while none of them had results suggestive of diabetes, a common cause of SFPN, two were found to have hepatitis C virus infection, which can be successfully treated, and more than half had evidence of some type of immune system dysfunction.
"Until now, there has been no good idea about what causes fibromyalgia, but now we have evidence for some but not all patients. Fibromyalgia is too complex for a 'one size fits all' explanation," says Oaklander, an associate professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. "The next step of independent confirmation of our findings from other laboratories is already happening, and we also need to follow those patients who didn't meet SFPN criteria to see if we can find other causes. Helping any of these people receive definitive diagnoses and better treatment would be a great accomplishment."
###
Other authors of the Pain report are Zeva Daniela Herzog, Heather Downs and Max Klein, PhD, all of MGH Neurology. Preliminary results of the study were presented at the 2012 American Neurological Association meeting, and it was supported by Public Health Service grants NINDS K24NS059892 and UIL RR025758, Department of Defense grant GW093049, and a donation from Jane Cheever Powell.
Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $775 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study finds evidence of nerve damage in around half of fibromyalgia patientsPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mike Morrison mdmorrison@partners.org 617-724-6425 Massachusetts General Hospital
Small study could lead to identification of treatable diseases for some with chronic pain syndrome
About half of a small group of patients with fibromyalgia a common syndrome that causes chronic pain and other symptoms was found to have damage to nerve fibers in their skin and other evidence of a disease called small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN). Unlike fibromyalgia, which has had no known causes and few effective treatments, SFPN has a clear pathology and is known to be caused by specific medical conditions, some of which can be treated and sometimes cured. The study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers will appear in the journal Pain and has been released online.
"This provides some of the first objective evidence of a mechanism behind some cases of fibromyalgia, and identifying an underlying cause is the first step towards finding better treatments," says Anne Louise Oaklander, MD, PhD, director of the Nerve Injury Unit in the MGH Department of Neurology and corresponding author of the Pain paper.
The term fibromyalgia describes a set of symptoms including chronic widespread pain, increased sensitivity to pressure, and fatigue that is believed to affect 1 to 5 percent of individuals in Western countries, more frequently women. While a diagnosis of fibromyalgia has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Rheumatology, its biologic basis has remained unknown. Fibromyalgia shares many symptoms with SFPN, a recognized cause of chronic widespread pain for which there are accepted, objective tests.
Designed to investigate possible connections between the two conditions, the current study enrolled 27 adult patients with fibromyalgia diagnoses and 30 healthy volunteers. Participants went through a battery of tests used to diagnose SFPN, including assessments of neuropathy based on a physical examination and responses to a questionnaire, skin biopsies to evaluate the number of nerve fibers in their lower legs, and tests of autonomic functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and sweating.
The questionnaires, exam assessments, and skin biopsies all found significant levels of neuropathy in the fibromyalgia patients but not in the control group. Of the 27 fibromyalgia patients, 13 had a marked reduction in nerve fiber density, abnormal autonomic function tests or both, indicating the presence of SFPN. Participants who met criteria for SFPN also underwent blood tests for known causes of the disorder, and while none of them had results suggestive of diabetes, a common cause of SFPN, two were found to have hepatitis C virus infection, which can be successfully treated, and more than half had evidence of some type of immune system dysfunction.
"Until now, there has been no good idea about what causes fibromyalgia, but now we have evidence for some but not all patients. Fibromyalgia is too complex for a 'one size fits all' explanation," says Oaklander, an associate professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. "The next step of independent confirmation of our findings from other laboratories is already happening, and we also need to follow those patients who didn't meet SFPN criteria to see if we can find other causes. Helping any of these people receive definitive diagnoses and better treatment would be a great accomplishment."
###
Other authors of the Pain report are Zeva Daniela Herzog, Heather Downs and Max Klein, PhD, all of MGH Neurology. Preliminary results of the study were presented at the 2012 American Neurological Association meeting, and it was supported by Public Health Service grants NINDS K24NS059892 and UIL RR025758, Department of Defense grant GW093049, and a donation from Jane Cheever Powell.
Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $775 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
A California teen has died from a severe allergic reaction after accidentally biting into a camp treat made with peanut butter.
Natalie Giorgi, 13, was vacationing with her family at Camp Sacramento in California's Eldorado National Forest Friday when she grabbed a crispy rice treat off of a dessert tray at the campsite, ABC affiliate KXTV reported. It was dark, and Natalie failed to realize that the treat had been made with peanut butter before taking a bite.
"She took every care," Pastor Michael Kiernan of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Natalie's hometown of Carmichael, Calif., told KXTV, bewildered by the unexpected death of a seventh-grader who was well aware of her deadly allergy. "They were really on it all the time."
See the 17 scariest allergy triggers.
Natalie quickly spit out the mouthful and alerted her mom, but it was too late. Within 20 minutes, the teen began vomiting and had difficulty breathing, a family friend told KXTV.
"A small amount of peanut, if you're a sensitive person, can be fatal," said Dr. Scott Sicherer, professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of allergy and immunology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "And peanut is a pretty common food, which can be hidden in things, so it's hard to avoid."
Fire Ant Sting Proves Fatal for Allergic Woman Watch Video
Three epinephrine autoinjectors were used in an effort to quell the full-body allergic reaction, according to the family friend, but Natalie went into cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the nearest hospital by ambulance but pronounced dead upon arrival.
"While our hearts are breaking over the tragic loss of our beautiful daughter Natalie, it is our hope that others can learn from this and realize that nut and food allergies are life threatening," Natalie's family said in a statement to KXTV. "Caution and care for those inflicted should always be supported and taken."
Read about how a college freshman died after eating a cookie baked with peanut oil.
One in 20 U.S. children has a food allergy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Peanuts are among the most common food allergens, which also include cow's milk, eggs, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soybeans and wheat. Peanuts are also one of the deadliest food allergens, according to Sicherer.
"Teenagers and young adults seem to be the ones at the highest risk for fatal reactions," he said, noting that a delay in injecting epinephrine can often factor into the tragic outcome. "One of the common themes among children and adults who had fatal reactions is they didn't use the medication in the beginning. And by the time you develop serious symptoms, it can be too late."
Children and teenagers can underestimate the seriousness of the early signs of anaphylaxis, such as itching in mouth and throat, according to Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist with the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma clinic and the immediate past president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
"Some people just report 'feeling funny,'" Fineman added, noting that it's better to be safe than sorry in the early stages of a severe allergic reaction. "If you think you might need to use epinephrine, go ahead and use it. You're better off taking it and not needing it than not taking it and needing it."
Neither Fineman nor Sicherer know the details of Natalie's reaction or the emergency response.
Calls to Camp Sacramento, where the Giorgi had vacationed for the past four summers, were not immediately returned. It's unclear whether the treats were provided by the camp or brought by other campers.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Shawnee County Historical Society wants to impress upon the county commission a ?tremendous opportunity? to enhance public awareness about Willard, formerly Uniontown, and its role in America's exodus west.To that ...
Johnny Manziel punks hater on Twitter with Heisman Trophy picture
by Nick Schwartz on Jul. 28, 2013, under Sports
Source: USA TODAY
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Beijing, July 28 (IANS) China?s top economic planner has allocated 100 million yuan (around $16 million) for infrastructure reconstruction in quake-hit Gansu province.
The fund, allocated by the National Development and Reform Commission, will be used for rebuilding transport, water conservancy and other public facilities in Minxian and Zhangxian counties, the China Daily reported Sunday.
A 6.6-magnitude quake jolted the border areas of Minxian and Zhangxian counties Monday, killing at least 95 people and injuring more than 1,400.
Heavy rain has been falling in the quake zone since last week, hampering transport of relief materials, officials said.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -?Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the release of 104 Arab prisoners to help restart U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians after nearly three years of diplomatic stagnation.
Thirteen ministers in Prime Minister?Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition cabinet voted in favor of the prisoner release, seven voted against and two abstained, a government official said.
"The cabinet has authorized the opening of diplomatic talks between?Israel?and the Palestinians...," said a statement issued by the prime minister's office.
Netanyahu had urged divided rightists in his cabinet to back the prisoner deal.
"This moment is not easy for me, is not easy for the cabinet ministers, and is not easy especially for the bereaved families, whose feelings I understand," he said when the cabinet met, referring to families who have lost members in militant attacks.
"But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the nation and this is one of those moments."
Justice Minister?Tzipi Livni, who is set to head?Israel's negotiation team, told her cabinet colleagues that resuming talks with the Palestinians was a vital national interest.
"Today's cabinet decision is one of the most important for the future of?Israel... Starting a (peace) process is in?Israel's security and strategic interests," Livni said.
Palestinian President?Mahmoud Abbas?has demanded the release of prisoners held since before a 1993 interim peace accord took effect.?Israel?has jailed thousands more Palestinians since then, many for carrying out deadly attacks.
The prisoner release would allow Netanyahu to sidestep other Palestinian demands, such as a halt to Jewish settlement expansion and a guarantee that negotiations over borders will be based on boundaries from before the 1967?Middle East?war, when?Israel?captured the?West Bank,?Gaza Stripand East Jerusalem.
Chief Palestinian negotiator?Saeb Erekat?welcomed?Israel's decision, which he said had come 14 years late, and pledged to work for the release of all prisoners held by?Israel.
"This Israeli cabinet decision is an overdue step towards the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement of 1999," he said in a statement. "We call on?Israel?to seize the opportunity ... to put an end to decades of occupation and exile and to start a new stage of justice, freedom and peace for?Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region."
In any future peace deal,?Israel?wants to keep several settlement blocs and East Jerusalem, which it annexed as part of its capital in a move never recognized internationally.
Hundreds of protesters from the?Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine?(PFLP) staged a rally against the resumption of peace talks, clashing with police in the?West Bank?city of?Ramallah, the seat of?Abbas's Palestinian Authority.
PFLP activists also demonstrated in?Gaza?and chanted: "Listen?Abbas, our land is not for sale... The (Palestinian) cause will never be resolved except by the rifle."
RELEASED LATER
Appealing for support on his Facebook page on Saturday, Netanyahu said the inmates would be freed in groups only after the start of talks, expected to last at least nine months.
The 22-member cabinet also discussed legislation that would require a referendum on any statehood deal reached with the Palestinians involving a withdrawal from land?Israel?captured in the 1967 war. It will be sent for parliamentary debate shortly.
The U.S.-sponsored talks, expected to reconvene in Washington as early as Tuesday, broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over Israeli settlement construction in the?West Bank, which Palestinians say denies them a viable state.
Before the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told ministers from his?Likud party?that?Israel?would pay a price if peace talks did not resume, according to one official who was there.
The latest diplomatic push follows months of intense shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State?John Kerry?who said a week ago the groundwork had been laid for a breakthrough, while setting no specific date for talks to restart.
(Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in?Ramallahand Nidal al-Mughrabi in?Gaza; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
All Critics (121) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (10)
In your twenties you decide on the final version of you. Sophie is working on it; Frances is stuck in her crazy, clueless, can't-pay-the-rent stage.
It's a tribute to Gerwig's performance, somehow both clumsy and elegant, that she wins us over despite ourselves, that we come to appreciate her aimlessness in a goal-oriented society ...
This is an odd film (creepier than it knows), and even if you feel the atmospheric company of Dunham-ism, with a little of Whit Stillman, Henry Jaglom, and Woody Allen, the core influence on Noah Baumbach's film is fifty years older or more.
Baumbach usually builds his films around difficult protagonists, but Frances is entirely endearing, at once silly and deep, hopeless and promising.
The dialogue and editing are zippy and generally charming, combining with the tart observations of 20-something culture to create a nice frisson.
A black-and-white salute to the French New Wave (the score is borrowed from Georges Delerue, composer of many a Truffaut and Godard film) that manages to be very much of this moment ...
Gerwig's last jaunt to Europe was in Woody Allen's feeble and disjointed To Rome With Love, and even Allen himself might acknowledge that here she is despatched across the Atlantic in a far more successful cause.
A perky cinematic pick-me-up starring the endearing Greta Gerwig who co-wrote the screenplay with director Noah Baumbach, her boyfriend.
I'm not sure what Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha is about, which is one reason I like it so much.
Frances is only adequate as a dancer but her enthusiasm bridges the gap between aspiration and ability. She deserves an A for effort. The film gets one for attainment.
It's a likable movie, with some nice moments of both comedy and pathos, and beautifully shot, but for me the reverence for its heroine was not completely earned, and the arrowhead was missing: the decisive jab of satire, of insight, of love.
This film may look like one of those annoyingly mannered independent films, with its wacky young cast and arty-farty black and white photography, but it's actually a fresh, smart and very funny comedy.
Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig have carved out, with effortless elegance and ease, a cinematic space for a woman to be, unapologetically, herself.
Frances Ha both acknowledges and earns its place in the tradition of the New York bourgeois comedy, encoding the angst of social mores in witty dialogue. Make no mistake: the cinematic slacker has come of age.
An unlikely feelgood crowd-pleaser - Frances Ha is sweet, funny, darling and almost unbearably lovely. And thankfully, everyone enunciates.
Brilliantly directed and beautifully shot, this is an utterly delightful, warm-hearted and very funny comedy with a wonderful script and a terrific central performance from Greta Gerwig.
Despite Gerwig's natural appeal and talent as a performer, Frances' self-absorption and flakiness begin to grate.
When is a film a throwaway sketch that's so good it's frameable? When it's Frances Ha.
Much of the reason why Frances Ha is a far more well-crafted and enjoyable piece of cinema than either Lola Versus or Damels in Distress.
The story becomes chaotic and disjointed, but that's the point: Frances is tumbling towards her 30s with no sense of direction and this is where Gerwig excels, deftly pulling you along on a bumpy ride.
Baumbach and Gerwig have co-written a film about the point when spontaneous, giddy arrested adolescence ceases to be endearing and threatens to be annoying.
Anchored by a charming performance from Greta Gerwig, it's as light and breezy as a walk in Central Park, and just as refreshing.
A joyous portrait of an unformed personality that should strike chords of recognition in all who watch it.
Frances Ha could be THE post-college-angst comedy of the '10s. This is what happens when Mumblecore grows up and turns into a real movie.
Agreeable low-budget modern-day urban comedy.
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Now one of the leading players in this ?2.2 billion (?3.4 billion) industry, Wonga, has come under spiritual attack.
The head of the Church of England has joined a chorus of criticism from regulators and politicians over irresponsible lending by the industry, and he's launched a campaign to quash Wonga and its peers.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, a former senior oil executive and now spiritual leader for tens of millions of Anglicans worldwide, said he would allow credit unions to set up shop on church property with the aim of putting Wonga and its peers out of business.
Welby, who is a member of the U.K. parliamentary commission on banking standards, said in an interview withTotal Politics that he had told the head of Wonga: "We're not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we're trying to compete you out of existence."
Related: Sneaky credit card charges can cost you hundreds
The archbishop, top politicians and U.K. regulators, including the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission, are concerned that payday lenders make it easy for customers to take out loans, but charge exorbitant rates of interest that push people into a downward spiral of debt.
By contrast, member-owned credit unions charge lower borrowing rates, but it's harder to access their loans because they're not as savvy with their marketing and online presence.
To put the situation in perspective, a consumer who borrowed ?400 from a credit union for a month would repay roughly ?409, plus a fee to join the credit union. The same loan from Wonga would cost ?527, plus a ?5.50 fee.
The annual percentage rate (APR) for the credit union loan would be 26.8%, while for Wonga it would be nearly 6,000%.
Related: Fix costly credit report errors
Wonga says the comparison is meaningless because its loans have much shorter terms than a year. It says it pursues responsible lending practices, declines many loan applications, and its customers have a default rate of 7%, which is comparable to credit card companies.
"We work hard to lend only to the people who can pay us back," it said in a statement.
Still, the U.K.'s Competition Commission is in the process of investigating the payday industry as a whole, and the British government is investing up to ?38 million in credit unions to help them gain a competitive edge.
The Association of British Credit Unions says the money will help its members develop the systems they need to make their loans easier to access.
The Office of Fair Trading completed a review of the payday industry in March, issuing a scathing attack on payday practices and reporting that many lenders were not complying with industry rules.
A handful of these lenders have since left the payday market and some surrendered their consumer credit licenses altogether.
Welby's broadside lost some of its impact Friday after it was revealed that the church's own pension fund had invested in one of Wonga's backers. The church said an independent inquiry would look into this "serious inconsistency."
Madison ? A Democratic senator is upset that some 3,000 union state workers won't immediately share in the 1% pay raise put forward by Gov. Scott Walker's administration for each of the next two fiscal years.
Those employees have to wait for contracts to be negotiated over their wages with the Walker administration. In the past, pay increases for non-union employees and separate contracts for union workers containing their pay increases were typically handled around the same time out of fairness, according to Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and his office.
"Passing a state employment compensation plan without including any represented state employees reeks of punishment," Erpenbach wrote Thursday in a letter to Walker.
Walker himself has described the 1% pay increase as a "general wage adjustment" for state employees in press statements, though he has qualified it that it was only for eligible employees.
"For those state employees who chose to vote for their union's recertification, the negotiations over wage increases will happen as a part of the collective bargaining process between their union and the state," Walker spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster said.
A June 25 letter from the governor's administration to lawmakers makes clear that the salary increase applies to all employees "except for those bargaining units that are certified at the time of the adjustment."
There are currently relatively few state employees in unions that are certified, or officially recognized for the state. There are seven relatively small certified unions covering building trades workers, patient care workers, education workers, state attorneys, local prosecutors, researchers and public safety officers.
Together, the seven unions have about 3,012 members who will not be receiving the general 1% raise.
Some of the nearly 1,200 union patient care workers may already be receiving a raise through separate channels, according to the Department of Administration. Assistant district attorneys will also receive a different set of automatic raises under a program that lawmakers incorporated into the state budget.
Webster said she couldn't comment on where contract negotiations with the remaining state unions now stand. In March 2011, Walker signed a law repealing collective bargaining on all subjects except salaries for public employee unions in Wisconsin.
Even the bargaining on salary increases is typically subject to the rate of inflation.
Making the situation even more complex, a group state public safety workers such as State Patrol troopers have retained all their union bargaining.
Current union members are a fraction of the state's more than 69,000 full-time employees.
But the union numbers might grow at least modestly. A group of 5,900 prison guards this month voted to form a union after the wage increase went into effect, though that vote could still be contested. If the correctional workers union does form, then its workers might not be eligible for the second of the 1% general wage increase.
This year's hike, which shows up on employees' paychecks at the end of July, is the first in four years for most rank-and-file employees and the first in five years for most managers, according to the administration.
The pay raise will apply to most state workers, including employees at University of Wisconsin System campuses. Employees making less than $15 an hour would see an additional increase of up to 25 cents an hour.
Walker's Office of State Employment Relations released the plan to lawmakers last month and it was then approved by the Legislature's Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
In the plan, elected officials would get the same pay bumps as typical state employees, but not until after the November 2014 elections. The raises would boost lawmakers' salaries from $49,943 to $50,950 and the governor's salary from $144,423 to $147,328.
Through mid-2015, the raises and benefits changes would cost $142.6 million, with $65 million of that coming from state taxpayers, according to letters to lawmakers from Gregory Gracz, director of the employment relations office. The rest would come from the federal government, revenue from fees and other sources.
Mandy Ingber, who is becoming a household name in yoga circles thanks to her celebrity clientele and her new best-selling book Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-body Makeover, may have come from the world of show business and glamour, but her path to a healthy body was hard won through her own search for self-acceptance.
Growing up in Los Angeles, and as a television and theater actress, Ingber struggled with her weight, developing eating disorders and struggling with self-confidence. She became a fitness instructor but realized that blending in yoga, which she learned growing up, was a better means to achieving the mental, emotional, and physical balance she craved.
Her hybrid path to health and self-acceptance has since become popular with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Kate Beckinsale, and Helen Hunt, and?includes everything from dietary advice and recipes to playlists and journal questions.
We talked to her to learn more about her practice, her book, and her passion for sharing yoga with others.
What first drew you to yoga? I was introduced to yoga by my father in the early ?70s. I grew up in LA, and my father was very cutting edge. He began practicing Iyengar Yoga from the Light On Yoga book, and was a teacher by example. In trying to get some air time with my dad, my brother and I would try to contort [ourselves] into the more advanced poses.?Yoga has always been a part of my life. It?s like my amniotic fluid.
What is Yogalosophy? It?s my fitness philosophy, which is based on a ?love your body and self completely? mentality. It includes intention setting, self-acceptance, and self-observation, and teaches people to be present and accept what they have, while striving to improve at the same time. The practice part of it is a hybrid routine of yoga and fitness, pairing traditional yoga poses with basic toning exercises.
What influenced you to create this practice (and to write this book)? Although I was raised with awareness around health, I found that the pressure to stay healthy could also be very stifling. After struggling with body image, perfectionism, and eating disorders for years, I became a spinning instructor. When I began teaching, I was far from the model of perfection, but I became the voice of loving myself into shape. I came to realize that while my energy was too intense when I only directed it toward myself, it could effectively power an entire room filled with people! I started to create a hybrid routine of yoga and fitness that included positive messaging, and to teach it to my students in L.A., many of whom were celebrities. After Jennifer Aniston and I did a spread in SELF magazine together, I started to share some of that routine with the public and created the Yogalosophy DVD. The book is an extension of that DVD.
What?s it like teaching to celebrities and what drew you to that population? Celebrities are just like you and me in terms of self-care. We each are in a body and have certain limitations and challenges. We all have this amazing gift that needs daily care and requires a certain level of commitment and attention. Each of us makes decisions each day about how we treat our bodies. Celebrities are really no different on that level. As far as why celebrities have been drawn to me: I am a former actress, so celebrity has always been a part of my life.
In one part of the book, you tell readers that it?s OK to watch TV while doing yoga or drink a glass of wine afterward. Not all yoga teachers offer this kind of advice. Can you talk about why you suggest making these allowances in your practice? If we become too strict with our regimen or place too many rules around the conditions for our practice, we run the risk of paralyzing ourselves from action altogether. Additionally, it is important that we not set such unrealistic expectations of ourselves, so as to set ourselves up for failure. By allowing yourself to watch television during your practice, you create more opportunity to engage in your work on the yoga mat, which is beneficial. Similarly, it?s important to understand that bringing yoga into your life does not mean renouncing certain sources of enjoyment, like a glass of wine. Let?s say you have plans to grab drinks with friends later in the evening?don?t give them up. While a diet comprised of healthy, whole foods is an essential part of the?Yogalosophy, it?s important to keep living your life. In a pinch, I have some go-to snacks like mixed nuts, almond/coconut water or KIND bars, because they are made from real, all-natural ingredients that keep things as close to nature as possible.
In your book, you talk about your father?s death, and what it taught you about the temporary nature of the body. How can contemplation on death teach us to make the most of our bodies right now? It prevents us from taking the miracle of the body for granted. The impermanence of life is what makes it so beautiful. Each moment is so rare. Being present in it is really all we have. I have loved each moment. Even my struggles have made sense. I am not sure if we can ever truly grasp how much love there is all around us all of the time. That was one thing my father was saying a lot in his last six weeks. I could see it in him as well. I don?t want to wait to feel that love. I want to live heaven on earth.
With an olfactory potency hundreds of times more sensitive than ours, a dog's nose is an invaluable tool in the service of humans. But understanding exactly what your dog's nose is picking up has traditionally been limited to specific yes/no answers, such as airport drug dogs ("do you smell weed on this suitcase, yes or no?"). A new device from the Georgia Institute of Technology, though, aims to drastically expand your dog's vocabulary.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Two local folk singers, strumming guitars and crooning about the virtues of Oregon, have become the first tool in a $20 million campaign to convince Oregon's uninsured to buy health insurance.
Musicians Laura Gibson and Matt Sheehy appear in ads that are now on heavy rotation in all of Oregon's television markets. The ads are the beginning of an intensifying push to introduce the public to Cover Oregon, the online marketplace where individuals and small businesses can shop for health insurance coverage and see whether they qualify for financial assistance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Obama's overhaul will require nearly all Americans to have health insurance by Jan. 1 or pay a penalty.
"These ads are what we like to call our 'hello' to Oregon," said Amy Fauver, chief communications officer for Cover Oregon. "It's really about building awareness of the name Cover Oregon and also generating a positive sentiment. We know that most people have not heard of Cover Oregon."
The Oregon Legislature created Cover Oregon, known officially as the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange, as a public corporation in 2011. It's currently funded primarily by hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants but is supposed to eventually be self-sufficient.
The introductory ads feature Gibson and Sheehy singing about Oregon's iconic landmarks, independent spirit and healthy lifestyle. The two ads now airing will soon be joined by a third featuring Portland-based hip-hop duo Lifesavas, Fauver said.
They hardly mention Cover Oregon nor explain what it is, instead trying to create a positive vibe associating the brand with Oregon's cultural identity. An educational campaign will follow next month to help people understand what it means for them, Fauver said.
Cover Oregon officials say website traffic surged six-fold to 10,424 visits after the ads began airing.
The In addition to the ad campaign, the federal government is offering grants to community health centers that serve the poor to help them educate their patients. The state is also awarding outreach grants to local organizations that want to help get people to sign up for health coverage. More than 70 organizations applied for grants, and state officials are currently reviewing their materials, Fauver said.
Oregon has embraced Obama's health care overhaul and was one of the first states to agree to build an exchange. Cover Oregon expects to spend $20 million on advertising, public relations and community outreach, almost all of it in federal money. At $5.29 per resident, Oregon's advertising budget is seventh-highest in the country, according to records from all 50 states compiled by The Associated Press.
Nearly 600,000 people in Oregon are uninsured, 15 percent of the population. Starting Jan. 1, people making less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level ? $23,550 a year for a family of four ? will be eligible for the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program. Anyone else who doesn't get insurance from an employer or Medicare will be able to purchase it through Cover Oregon, and people with low and moderate incomes will qualify for the federal subsidies.
State officials expect 320,000 people to get insurance through Cover Oregon next year, including some people who are currently uninsured and others who get already get health insurance on the individual market.
The success of Cover Oregon will depend on enrolling lots of young and healthy people. If only the sick sign up, critics warn that premiums will skyrocket and make it financially unsustainable.
HONG KONG: Influential midfielder Yaya Toure on Thursday backed new manager Manuel Pellegrini to bring silverware to Manchester City, describing him as "unbelievable".
The former Malaga coach got his first victory as City boss in a 1-0 win over South China in Hong Kong on Wednesday, having only arrived in the region a day earlier after the death of his mother.
Toure said he hopes the Chilean, who replaced the sacked Roberto Mancini, can bring trophies to the Etihad after rivals Manchester United romped to the Premier League title last season.
"Last year, we have to be honest, United were much better than us," said the former Barcelona man, 30.
"We are working and trying to understand and learn from the new manager, who had a fantastic record in the past in Spain."
He added of Pellegrini: "Unbelievable, great things, his ability to manage is unbelievable and he's doing fantastically well. We are all focused on him and trying to understand what he wants us to deliver and what he wants us to do on the pitch.
"He's an unbelievable guy, a very good guy, and dedicated to his work, and you can see his commitment. He's a very good choice for Man City and I hope he's going to bring a lot of trophies to Man City.
"When you change mangers, sometimes it is quite hard because you need to adapt to the new formation. But with the new signings I think it is going to be very exciting."
City have been the biggest spenders over the summer as they attempt to wrestle the Premier League crown back from Old Trafford, shelving out 83 million pounds on new players.
They have brought in strikers Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla and Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina, as well as Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas and Brazil midfielder Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk.
"They are amazing, amazing. I already know them because some of them have come from Spain... They are great players and we welcome them to Man City.
"I hope the fans will enjoy them and they will help the club lift a couple of trophies this year."
Cisco has just announced the acquisition of Sourcefire, a company that creates cybersecurity products to protect companies from attacks. The purchase price is $2.7 billion, or $76 per share in cash plus retention-based incentives.
It?s not often that you give up six runs in the bottom of the first inning and come back to win.
It?s even less frequent when it?s a playoff game, but that?s exactly what the Victoria Eagles accomplished on opening-weekend play of the B.C. Premier Baseball League post-season.
The sixth-seeded Eagles scored in every inning except the seventh, but at that point they were already up 9-7 and kept the No. 3-ranked North Shore Twins to a single run in the bottom half for a comeback 9-8 win in the series-clinching Game 3 on Sunday in North Vancouver.
Manager Gautam Srivistava?s crew now advances to the BCPBL Final Four tournament in Abbotsford this weekend, opening up against the Nanaimo Pirates at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Delair Park.
The No. 7 Pirates toppled the No. 2 Victoria Eagles in two straight on Saturday and, on a weekend of upsets, the No. 8 Vancouver Cannons tossed aside the top-ranked Langley Blaze, all in three games.
?A really gutsy performance by Riley Edmonds to give up six in the first, then throw four shutout innings after that. He kept his composure and he gave us a chance to come back and win,? said Srivistava, who then watched Brandon Feldman earn the save, tossing the last two innings.
Offensively, the Eagles scored one in the first inning, two in the second, one each in the third and fourth before coming up with three key runs in the fifth and adding the winning run in the sixth.
Zane Takhar was three-for-three with four RBIs and Will Wild?s bat came alive, going 3-for-5.
?This was very satisfying,? Srivistava said of achieving his team?s goal of reaching the Final Four. ?The boys worked real hard this weekend. We?ve worked real hard these last two weeks.
?Everyone clutched up and played through whatever tweaks they had and put together a real good last game.?
The Eagles won Game 1 against North Shore 12-7 on Saturday, before losing Game 2 by an 8-2 count.
In the Final Four, teams will play a full round-robin tournament Friday and Saturday with the last-place team eliminated. Second place will face third place in the semifinal, with the top team advancing straight to Sunday?s final.
The imminent departure of Jeffrey Deitch from the directorship of the Museum of Contemporary Art after three short years was never really a question of "if" but only "when." The arrangement was bound to fail.
Rumors about the impending exit have swirled for months, reaching a crescendo in recent days. The MOCA board of trustees, which has remained silent through it all, is expected to make a major announcement after its regularly scheduled Wednesday meeting. It will surely put the best face on things.
But few are surprised at the outcome.
GRAPHIC: MOCA's relationship with Jeffrey Deitch
When Deitch took the reins in June 2010, MOCA was in limbo. An internationally celebrated institution with arguably the finest program of any contemporary art museum in the nation had teetered on the brink of financial collapse, having been mismanaged for years.
The board's confounding solution to the problem: Hire a new director with virtually no administrative museum experience, and empower him to change the program.
Except for a brief period in the 1970s, Deitch's art career evolved inside the commercial world as an art dealer, investment advisor, gallery owner and consultant to private collectors. Outside of his New York gallery, Deitch Projects, occasional independent forays into writing and exhibition organizing largely took place in Europe. There, the not-for-profit world of art museums that distinguishes the United States is negligible.
The MOCA appointment appeared to be a first. A major gallery owner in New York, epicenter of the international art market, was being tapped for a prestigious museum post.
Museum directors traditionally come from within the curatorial and administrative museum ranks. That's sensible, given the institutional complexity of a job that requires administrative skills to marshal the talents of a large staff; fundraising know-how for both short-term projects and long-term stability; an ability to work with professionals in the field, including artists, and the volunteers who make up the board and support groups; and a commitment to the art public in whose name the tax-exempt operation functions.
TIMELINE: MOCA in flux
Deitch was untested in all of those areas. MOCA leaders framed their unprecedented decision as an example of the risk-taking for which an adventurous contemporary art museum had become widely admired. In reality, though, the choice just seemed naive.
The artistic difference between the two jobs is fundamental. A gallery owner can indulge a narrow and highly personal program ? it's his business, after all ? while the best museum directors are those who merge a personal commitment with an eagerness to support gifted curatorial staff whose diverse, knowledgeable interests might even be contradictory. The liveliness of an art museum depends less on attendance figures than on the rambunctious discernment of disparate artistic ideas.
Obvious practical problems also loomed. One was the glaring fact that Deitch was an active art collector with considerable holdings in his own right. Museum professional associations caution against the collecting activities of staff. MOCA faced potentially messy commercial entanglements with its new director.
Deitch's unfolding artistic program was regularly mischaracterized as celebrity-oriented and blandly populist, thanks to his indulgence in mostly wan exhibitions related to actors Dennis Hopper and James Franco, Hollywood tabloid photographer Weegee, iconic filmmaker Kenneth Anger, pop musician Mike D and, most of all, Andy Warhol and several of the late Pop artist's progeny.
Instead, his program is better described as simply representing a belief that art culture and popular culture have merged, becoming one and the same.
PHOTOS: Arts and culture in pictures by The Times
The idea is contentious, yet it's also just one among many competing notions in the argumentative arena of contemporary art. Suitable for a commercial gallery, it's nothing to build an ambitious museum program around. But the opportunity to attempt it proved irresistible to the untried gallery owner.
Emblematic was "Art in the Streets," the 2011 exhibition of graffiti and street art that was a hit at MOCA's Little Tokyo warehouse space. The crowds who came ? and who mostly did not return, as is typical for ingratiating, one-off blockbusters ? saw an often engaging array of work familiar from day-to-day encounters outside the museum.
But the show's concept was seriously flawed. Making no discernible distinction between graffiti, the outlaw tagging that first flourished in 1970s New York, and considered street art in the form of epic murals and other works that prospered simultaneously in Los Angeles and elsewhere, the exhibition seemed provincial and ill-informed.
The show also represented inroads into a disturbing development. Curatorial staff had built MOCA's reputation as an innovative museum over several decades, but now, guest curators with no museum ties were brought in to organize the program. Less expensive because they are retained only on a project basis, the curators frequently had financial relationships with the art and artists being shown that raised the inescapable specter of conflicts of interest.
SUMMER TRIPS: Guidebook takes you to America's sculpture gardens
Outsourcing, a business trend that has bedeviled the struggling American economy, was being imported into the nonprofit art museum. Staff positions throughout the museum had become something of a revolving door, but in diminishing the institution's core curatorial function, MOCA saw its reputation dwindle. When Paul Schimmel, the chief curator who led the program staff for 22 years, was dumped last summer, a Rubicon was crossed.
The news was delivered to Schimmel by MOCA life trustee Eli Broad rather than Deitch, whose job as director required it. By then it was clear, if it hadn't been already, that a museum board that had failed in its responsibilities for fiduciary oversight in the run-up to MOCA's near collapse in the fiscal crisis of 2008 was failing still.
Whether or not that will continue remains to be seen. In recent weeks, MOCA trustees have been sounding out potential candidates to succeed Deitch among European museum professionals. Given publicity around MOCA's difficult five years, the American museum pool has been tainted; austerity budgets at European museums, where government funding is more common, might make the grass look considerably greener across the Atlantic.
The best news is that MOCA's endowment fundraising, led by trustees Jeffrey Soros and Eugenio Lopez, is pegged at more than $75 million in pledges, with a goal of $100 million in sight. That will be the floor, rather than the ceiling, of what the museum will require in the post-Deitch era.
Skillful fundraising will need to be undertaken by whoever becomes director. But the labor of rebuilding a once stellar museum from scratch might at least be approached as a golden opportunity.
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Public release date: 30-Jul-2013
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Mandy Ingber, who is becoming a household name in yoga circles thanks to her celebrity clientele and her new best-selling book Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-body Makeover, may have come from the world of show business and glamour, but her path to a healthy body was hard won through her own search for self-acceptance.
Cisco has