Report: Algeria's president has mini-stroke

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, right, shakes hands with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma as they pose for photographers prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Algiers, Algeria, Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, right, shakes hands with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma as they pose for photographers prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Algiers, Algeria, Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) ? Algeria's president was hospitalized Saturday after having a mini-stroke without serious complications, the state news agency said.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, had a brief blockage of a blood vessel ? called a transient ischemic attack ? around noon, Rachid Bougherbal, the director of the national center of sports medicine told the state news agency.

"His excellency the president of the republic must observe a period of rest for further examinations," he said, adding that "there was no reason for worry."

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said the president was hospitalized, "but the situation is not serious."

Bouteflika has ruled the oil-rich North African country since 1999 and has long believed to be in poor health and rarely appears in public. The state news agency rarely carries any reports on the president's health

The announcement also comes as speculation is rife that Bouteflika will run for a fourth term in presidential elections just a year away, despite promises to step down. In Algeria, power is delicately shared between civilian politicians and the powerful military.

Algeria is one of Africa's richest countries, as the No. 3 supplier of natural gas to Europe, with $190 billion in reserves, up $8 billion in the last year alone.

On Jan. 16, a band of al-Qaida affiliated militants attacked the Ain Amenas gas plant and took dozens of foreign workers hostage. After a four-day standoff, the Algerian army moved in and killed 29 attackers and captured three others. At least 37 hostages, including one Algerian worker, died in the battle.

According to the American Stroke Association, a TIA, as it is known, is caused by a temporary blood clot and lasts just a short time and "usually causes no permanent injury to the brain." A third of those suffering from TIA, also known as "warning strokes," go on to have a full stroke within the next year, according to website of the association.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-27-Algeria-President%20Stroke/id-e4bf422ef18c4ceda1c5ad28a03fa264

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Transgender Pakistanis running for election

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) ? When Bindiya Rana, a transgender candidate in Pakistan's elections, went door to door in the Karachi slum she hopes to represent, few people seemed to care about which gender she identifies with. They were more interested in what she was going to do to combat the street crime and electricity outages in their neighborhood if elected.

For the first time in Pakistan's history, transgender people are running as candidates. The development marks a sign of progress for transgender people in this conservative country, where they have long been met by abuse.

Transgender refers to people who present themselves to the world in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. In Pakistan, that usually means people born as men who now dress like women and wear makeup. They identify as a "third gender" rather than as male or female but usually ask to be referred to by the feminine pronoun since there is no third-gender pronoun.

Rana has always been active in her community and works at an organization that helps promote the rights of transgender people as well as street children and other social issues. But she decided to run for office as well after a Supreme Court ruling in 2011 allowed members of the transgender community to get national identity cards recognizing them as a separate identity ? neither male or female ? and allowing them to vote.

She's vying for a provincial assembly seat in the May 11 national elections.

"People ask if we will win or lose in the elections. But I won when my nomination papers were submitted," she said.

The Supreme Court's decision didn't explicitly say that transgender people could run for office, but by getting the identity cards and the right to vote the road was opened for them. Before the court's decision, transgender people could get identity cards only if they identified themselves as men.

Almas Boby, president of the Pakistan Shemale Foundation, which advocates for members of the transgender community, said she knows of at least five transgender candidates taking part in the elections. Two, including Rana, are running in the southern port city of Karachi, and one each from the cities of Jehlum, Gujrat, and Sargodha in Punjab province.

"The Supreme Court of Pakistan gave us our rights. Now transgendered people are also contesting elections, and our thousands of people will vote for them," Boby said.

"If our people manage to reach assemblies, we will get a better treatment in society," she said.

Male and female roles are clearly defined in Pakistan, and transgender people often face harassment and abuse ? even from their own families. Some are pushed out of the home when they are young and end up prostituting themselves to earn a living.

One role where they are tolerated is as dancers at weddings and other celebrations at which men and women are strictly segregated. In between the dancing and showers of rupee notes, they must fend off groping from drunken guests.

They can also be seen begging for money in the streets, wearing female dress and makeup. Many earn money by blessing newborn babies, which reflects a widespread belief in Pakistan and other South Asian nations that God answers the prayers of someone born underprivileged.

Rana herself faced harassment from her own family, when she started to realize at the age of 12 that she was different than the other kids around her. When she was 14, she ran away from home and found work dancing at weddings and celebrations.

Running for office ? and the possibility of actually serving in office ? is a way to highlight the role of transgender people in Pakistan, said many of the candidates.

"If I win, I will also become a strong voice for transgendered people, who are often victimized and humiliated," said Lubna Lal, who is running for a Punjab provincial assembly seat in the city of Jehlum, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Islamabad.

"I am not worried about defeat. I am contesting elections to prove that now we are also part of the society, and we also have equal rights," she said.

But in many ways, the issues that the transgender candidates are most concerned with are no different from that of the average voter. Most say they want to cut unemployment, address the country's widespread poverty and electricity blackouts and loosen the grip of Pakistan's ruling parties on the political process.

"For me it is a jihad to contest elections, and God willing, I will win as I don't have huge funds. All I have is the love of the people," said another candidate, Resham. Like some transgender people in Pakistan, Resham only uses one name. She is running for a national assembly seat from the city of Gujrat.

Resham also said voters in her area encouraged her to contest the elections after becoming fed up with all the political parties. That's a common complaint in Pakistan where many voters rail at the corruption that they feel permeates the political system.

"All political parties have disappointed people. Now they want a change, and I am the best choice for them as my past record is clean and flawless," she said.

Most of the candidates have few financial resources and are relying on door-to-door campaigning and word of mouth to drum up votes. None is running with a political party, said Boby. All are independents.

Boby said she will also be traveling to the districts to help candidates campaign.

"Our campaign will be different. We will not be holding big rallies. We will go to homes to get votes, and you will see we will get a lot of votes," she said.

Boby said she was not worried about the security of the transgender candidates, and none has reported any harassment on the campaign trail.

In the slum where Rana knocked on nearly 50 houses in her door-to-door to campaign, there was little animosity from residents. No doors were slammed, and people greeted her with smiles. Rana has lived in this neighborhood for the last 20 years, and many see in her someone who is downtrodden and poor just like them.

"Bindiya must contest. It is everybody's right. And we believe that being poor like us, she may understand issues better," said Hameeda Bibi, a resident. "Because those who we thought were our own people and elected to assemblies, they did not do any good for us."

___

Ahmed contributed from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/transgender-pakistanis-running-election-062011768.html

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Universal's Adam Fogelson on weak box office: R movies aren't the problem, "strange" ones are

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Every studio tends to save its most lavish and (hopefully) profitable movies for the summer, but Universal chairman Adam Fogelson advocated a different approach on Wednesday, pushing for studios to release any movie at any time.

Citing his own studio's success with releasing the "Fast & Furious" films in April and the horror movie "White Noise" in January, Fogelson said there was no reason "other than historical behavior that almost any film can open on any weekend."

"White Noise," a low-budget horror film, went on to make $91 million at the box office and helped spark more studios to release similar movies early in the year. The "Fast" franchise has had great success in April, setting new records for two different weekends.

One theater owner joining Fogelson in Las Vegas for CinemaCon disagreed with the notion of 'any movie, as Carmike Cinemas' David Passman argued too many R-rated movies opened early this year. Many blamed the glut of R-rated films for a soft first quarter at the box office, with grosses down double digits from last year.

"As exhibitors, we're prone to blame the content providers," he said, before cautioning, "please don't stop making R."

Fogelson argued that the problem was the quality of the movies, not their rating.

"There were a lot of strange R-rated movies," Fogelson said, later adding, "Blaming R is overly simplistic. If or 'Ted' opened in January, they would have been a hit. 'Identity Thief' was a hit. It's about the movies."

The former marketing executive was speaking on a panel dubbed "Think Tank 2.0," and as the lone representative of a Hollywood studios, he often found himself speaking on behalf of them all.

Yet in this case, Fogelson set about differentiating Universal from his rivals. Though some studios have begun to warm to this idea, opening surefire hits like "The Hunger Games" in March, many still reserve movies they are least confident in for months such as January and September.

Universal has explored alternatives in part strategically, but Fogelson also acknowledged it was out of necessity.

"We're a studio that hasn't had the luxury of relying on traditional, tentpole intellectual property," he said. "We make the movies no one was paying attention to."

One notable exception to that bit of self-deprecation is "50 Shades of Grey," the adaptation of the best-selling novel. Fellow panelist Michael DeLuca is producing that film for the studio, but that didn't stop the two partners from mixing it up a bit over the future of dramas in movie theaters.

DeLuca, who has produced films such as "Moneyball" and "The Social Network," bemoaned studios' lack of commitment to adult-focused dramas.

"If one drama doesn't work, there are no dramas that year," DeLuca said. "They are dropped off the development slate."

Fogelson, while praising DeLuca's great ability, called that characterization simplistic and reductive.

"While there is still room for certain types of drama in the theater, we can't ignore the reality that TV is doing a brilliant job of scratching that itch for consumers," Fogelseon said.

The end result?

"Everything has to be an event," DeLuca said. "Including adult movies."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/universals-adam-fogelson-weak-box-office-r-movies-220834883.html

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5,000 NYC pay phones will take you back to 1993

In this Friday, April 5, 2013 photo, a pedestrian walks past a pay phone advertising the New Museum's "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit. The New Museum has launched an exhibit called "NYC 1993,? which fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. But the interesting part is how they've taken their show to the streets, with 5,000 payphones outfitted with stickers that say "1-855-FOR-1993." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Friday, April 5, 2013 photo, a pedestrian walks past a pay phone advertising the New Museum's "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit. The New Museum has launched an exhibit called "NYC 1993,? which fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. But the interesting part is how they've taken their show to the streets, with 5,000 payphones outfitted with stickers that say "1-855-FOR-1993." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

This Friday, April 5, 2013 photo shows a pay phone advertising the New Museum's "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit. The New Museum has launched an exhibit called "NYC 1993,? which fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. But the interesting part is how they've taken their show to the streets, with 5,000 payphones outfitted with stickers that say "1-855-FOR-1993." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, April 3 2013 photo, visitors to the New Museum in New York inspect the artwork on display during the "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit. The exhibit fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. But the interesting part is how they've taken their show to the streets, with 5,000 payphones outfitted with stickers that say "1-855-FOR-1993." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, April 3 2013 photo, visitors to the New Museum in New York inspect Matthew Barney's "Drawing Restraint 7" on display during the "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit. The New Museum has launched the "NYC 1993,? exhibit which fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. But the interesting part is how they've taken their show to the streets, with 5,000 payphones outfitted with stickers that say "1-855-FOR-1993." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

This Wednesday, April 3 2013 photo shows Felix Gonzalez-Torres' "Untitled" hanging while visitors walk and sit on Rudolph Stingel's "Untitled" at the "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" exhibit at the New Museum in New York. The "NYC 1993? exhibit fills five floors with works by more than 75 different artists. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Want to journey to a grittier time in New York City's not-too-distant past, when the murder rate was sky-high, Times Square was a crossroads of crime and porn, Starbucks had yet to arrive, and hardly anyone owned a cellphone?

A project designed to promote an art exhibit has turned 5,000 Manhattan pay phones into time machines that take callers back to 1993, a pivotal year in the city's art, culture and politics.

Pick up a receiver on the rarely used phones that still dot the New York streetscape, punch 1-855-FOR-1993 and you will hear a notable resident recounting what life was like on that block 20 years ago.

"We liked, creatively, the idea of using a sort of slightly broken, disused system as the canvas of this project," said Scott Chinn of Droga5, the ad agency behind the campaign for an exhibit titled "NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star."

An eclectic mix of artists, writers, food and fashion stars, and others has been recruited to reminisce, including chef Mario Batali, actor Chazz Palminteri, porn performer Robin Byrd and former Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott, who threw a no-hitter in 1993.

The narrators describe a New York that was dirtier, bloodier, raunchier and less gentrified than today ? but also an easier place for a talented young person to gain a foothold.

Batali says in his sound bite that opening a restaurant was easier in 1993 when he debuted his first restaurant, Po.

"You didn't have to have a rich daddy or an investor or put together a team or anything like that," he says. "It's sad to watch the cost of business push the real individualist entrepreneurs out of the game."

Bike shop owner Dave Ortiz remembers when the city's Meatpacking District, now home to trendy restaurants, nightclubs and pricey boutiques, was the wild, wild West.

"The rats were huge," he says. "They were as big as cats, so you had to walk in the middle of the street. It's amazing what they turned it into. It's cool but it's lost its, like, authenticity."

Rudy Giuliani was elected New York City mayor in 1993 and promised to crack down on crime and make the city more livable. The number of homicides in the city ? 1,960 in 1993 ? had already dropped from a high of 2,245 in 1990 but has plunged steeply since then. (There were 414 in all of last year.)

The city's AIDS crisis peaked in 1993 at 12,744 diagnoses. Terrorists staged the first attack on the World Trade Center. The look of the city has changed dramatically as national retailers have replaced independent merchants. New York City's first Starbucks opened in 1994.

"There was a presence of a kind of downtown underground scene which you really don't experience in New York anymore," recalled Gary Carrion-Murayari, curator of the exhibit at the New Museum featuring 161 works, many intended to shock with sexual imagery.

Lutz Bacher's "My Penis," for example, repeats a video snippet from the 1991 Florida rape trial of William Kennedy Smith, a nephew of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, in which Smith testifies about the organ in question.

In Pep?n Osorio's "The Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?)," a blood-soaked sheet covers what appears to be a corpse. Four nude mannequins join hands and stare into space in Charles Ray's "Family Romance." Political issues are tackled head-on in works like Sue Williams' "Are you Pro-Porn or Anti-Porn?"

The exhibit and accompanying pay phone campaign run through May 26.

Pay phones in the Times Square area feature X-rated talk-show host Byrd describing the neighborhood before Disney musicals and theme-park stores made it safe for tourists.

"The area wasn't really as dangerous as people thought it was in those days," Byrd says. "Because most of the bums that you thought were bums on the street were really undercover cops."

She adds: "It was a great time. It's too bad it's changed because now it's very pasteurized, homogenized, and it looks like Vegas."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-04-07-Pay%20Phone%20Time%20Machine/id-974c4ea6177442bab4b5c33abd994ef3

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Even without the Galaxy S4, Samsung?s Q1 market share reportedly surged

"I like small penises," said no women interviewed for an actually scientific study released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS. Yes, PNAS is a funny sounding acronym, and, yes, PNAS has found that size does matter ? and that women prefer "showers" to "growers."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/even-without-galaxy-s4-samsung-q1-market-share-164546104.html

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Panasonic's Lumix GF6 leaks early with a 16MP sensor, tilting touchscreen and NFC for ?449

After passing by Taiwan's WiFi certification tests, Panasonic's latest interchangeable lens camera has broken cover over at TechRadar. The leak has given us the first glimpse at the Lumix GF6's full spec list, which include the same 16-megapixel sensor as the GX1, a new Venus engine to assist with imaging performance, an electrostatic touchscreen and (in a first for ILCs) built-in NFC . Better still, the team had some time to play with the camera, which has shown itself almost precisely 12 months after the last GF iteration. The camera apparently tries to straddle the gap between compact point-and-shoots and the more technical world of mirrorless and DSLR shooters with a new mode dial on top and a more responsive touchscreen. In addition to NFC, there's even built-in WiFi to aid image sharing -- although we can only share the original article through the magic of Google cache -- take a peek at the source below. No word on a specific release date in the leak, although the UK's £449 price tag (which includes a new 14-42mm kit lens) should translate to around $680 on the other side of the Atlantic.

(Update: At TechRadar's request, we've taken down the image of the GF6)

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Source: TechRadar (Google Cache)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/v1Bc9FTfV3E/

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Disney Shuts Down LucasArts - Business Insider

It's official.?

Disney has shut down LucasArts.??

The Mouse House announced today that it will be laying off all 150 people at the game publishing division of Lucasfilm.??

Current projects, "Star Wars: First Assault" and the much-hyped "Star Wars 1313" have been cancelled.??

Here's the official statement:??

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles."

Disney purchased Lucasfilm October of last year for $4 billion.?

Last month, Lucasfilm announced it was ending its popular Cartoon Network series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," and was delaying Seth Green's future animated series, "Star Wars Detours."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-shuts-down-lucasarts-2013-4

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