91% Frances Ha

All Critics (103) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (9)

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 ...

The movie's a love letter to an actress and her character, but by the end you may feel like an intervention is more in order.

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.

Frances Ha is a refreshingly contemporary film, exploring 20-something hipster ennui with accuracy, empathy and humour.

As long as you remember to laugh, Frances Ha is a tolerable experience. Forget the "ha ha" and Frances Ha is beyond unbearable. I found this an odd and often frustrating truth, but it's what makes Noah Baumbach's new movie a success.

Gerwig keeps you on side and rooting for Frances to get her act together in what becomes an affectionate salute to messy lives, an endearing underachiever and a New York state of mind.

Don't be fooled by Frances with all her feigned insecurity and branding of herself as "undateable" and predicting she'll be a lonely spinster. She's a psychopath.

Gerwig's deft screwball timing turns every disaster into a grace note. This may be a comedy of awkwardness, but rather than curl, your toes will tap.

A refreshing amount of buoyancy to dance and charm its way through Quarter-Life Crisis territory. One of the best performances of Greta Gerwig's career to date

Frances Ha is a sympathetic but not uncritical depiction of a girl's gradual evolution into a woman; one that never condescends by forcing her to abandon all her quirks and impish qualities in the final act... An absolute delight, this is.

Indie darling Gerwig has a great deal to do with the picture's success: she's disarmingly likable...

There's a level of audacity beneath the lightweight whimsy in this unassuming low-budget comedy.

"Frances Ha makes a star out of Gerwig, and she's the kind of star we need: a goofy one we can feel tender about but never underestimate."

'I can't account for my own bruises,' Frances says, as if she were a clumsy kid with an adult's vocabulary. Does the remark refer to more than the abrasions on her skin?

A celebration of cinema, New York City and the distinctive charms of actress Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha was co-written by Gerwig and its director, Noah Baumbach, and it's the best film either has made.

There's a thin line between comedy and tragedy, and Greta Gerwig walks it remarkably well.

There's depth and realism in the way Frances Ha shows aspiration versus reality.

Gerwig, beyond a doubt, is immeasurably appealing, and Frances Ha is tailor-made to showcase her gifts better than anything she's ever been in.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frances_ha_2013/

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Military Doctrine: India sheds its ?landlocked mindset?

Source: NST

FOUR Indian Navy ships? voyage last month through the strategic Malacca Straits, calling at Port Klang, Da Nang and Manila, though not extraordinary, points to a significant trend.

Slowly, India seems to be shedding what critics call its ?landlocked mindset? and is surveying the vast expanse of water around it.

A country conducting maritime trade from times immemorial rarely flaunted its naval power. Its navy came into being, thanks to the British East India Company only four centuries ago.

Till Europeans came by the sea, invaders were from the mountains in its northwest.

Even today, India?s adversarial neighbours are along the Line of Control (Pakistan) and the McMahon Line (China). This has blinded Indians to the geographical reality that they are actually a maritime nation. That leaves them little scope to look at those who are not, in other directions.

Times are a-changing. Some 48 nations, many of them with thriving navies, are engaged or have shown interest in joint military exercises.

The Indian navy regularly deploys and operates across the world in different oceanic areas to update operational knowledge, test its reach and endurance.

Constructive engagement is its principal weapon during peacetime. The idea is to hone inter-operability skills for Humanitarian Assistance for Disaster Relief (HADR), as was done during the 2004 tsunami. According to a former navy chief, Admiral (rtd) Sushil Kumar: ?With the Indian subcontinent positioned dominantly astride the vital sea lanes of communication (SLOC) ? which include China?s new silk route through the Indian Ocean ? it is not India but China that finds itself on the back foot. That the Chinese have a healthy respect for the Indian navy?s capability has been well established.?

He recalls that ?in September 2000 when the Indian navy deployed a task force of submarines and destroyers to exercise in the South China Sea, there were misgivings in certain political circles.

?To those who understand what sea power is all about, it came as no surprise that this task force, which operated for more than a month in the region, was finally received by the Chinese at the Shanghai naval base with full military ceremony.?

Those dynamics have changed and so have threat perceptions. The Indian air force has set up its first fighter air station in the southern peninsula at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, deploying Sukhois. This futuristic arrangement is to provide maritime security cover to all strategic and vital installations in the region.

India is also building strong maritime security bridges with countries like Japan and Vietnam in a bid to counter China?s ?string of pearls? maritime construct in the Indian Ocean rim (IOC).

In Tokyo last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasised on strong mutual strategic interest to expand cooperation on maritime security and promoting regional stability.

India views Japan as a ?natural and indispensable partner? in the quest for stability and peace in Asia. Ensuring sea lanes remain open and free is vital for the region?s prosperity, given its dependence on oil imports from the Middle East.

Manmohan said: ?We have also sought to assume our responsibility for stability in the IOR (Indian Ocean region). We are well positioned, therefore, to become a net provider of security in our immediate region and beyond.?

Since trade depends on the sea lanes, their security and freedom of navigation is critical to economic and overall security.

India supports that freedom be exercised in accordance with the principles of international law.

With Singapore, India?s defence cooperation has been unique. Bilateral agreements for utilisation of facilities in India by the Singapore air force and army and the pact for training and exercises of Singapore air force in India, extended to 2017, point to this.

With Australia, India is to continue ongoing bilateral naval exchanges to build confidence and familiarity between the navies and work towards a bilateral maritime exercise in 2015.

It is also committed to continue to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific region bilaterally and through various multilateral fora, including the East Asia Summit, Asean Regional Forum and Asean Defence Ministers? Meeting.

Overall, the objective is to enhance security and stability in the entire IOR by engaging with regional and extra-regional maritime powers.

The Indian navy is committed to combating piracy and maritime terrorism in the Indian Ocean, especially in the Gulf of Aden, and safeguarding vital trade and energy flow destined for India and Southeast Asian economies.

?

Tags: allies, army, British East India Company, china, defence, india, Indian Ocean, IOR, Japan, Malacca Straits, military, navy, NST, Port Klang, power, security, Singapore, SLOC, trade

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StratRisks/~3/nb8-3m1v4YQ/13791

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Rothkopf: U.S. spying is out of control (CNN)

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Feds, truckers clash over new safety rules

transportation

John W. Schoen CNBC

6 hours ago

David Goldman / AP

A sign on the back of a truck advertises job openings at a truck stop Tuesday in Atlanta. New federal rules demand that truckers cut back on the number of hours they can spend behind the week -- to 70 hours a week from 82.

The federal government thinks long-haul truckers like Bryan Spoon need more rest.

But with the Department of Transportation's new rules forcing drivers to take longer breaks and cut back on hours behind the wheel, Spoon thinks the government has created a solution looking for a problem.

"I wish the government would just quit trying to fix something that's not broken," Spoon said on a recent rest stop in Columbia, Mo., after hauling a load of construction materials on the 48-foot Great Dane flatbed behind his 2009 Volvo 780.

"If I get any more breaks out here I won't be able to make a living," he said.

Starting Monday, drivers like Spooner will have to stick to a schedule that requires taking a 30-minute break in the first eight hours of driving, cut the maximum workweek to 70 hours from 82, and "restart" those 70 hours with a 34-hour break once a week.

The rules are part of a program by the Obama administration to make U.S. highways safer by reducing the number of truck accidents and fatalities. The program also includes a safety rating system that shippers can review when they choose a new carrier, with the goal of prodding the trucking industry to further improve the safety of its drivers and equipment.

"The updated hours of service rule makes three common sense, data-driven changes to increase safety on our roadways and reduce driver fatigue, a leading factor in large truck crashes," Anne Ferro, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which issued the rules, said in a statement.

Ferro was not available for an interview.

David Goldman / AP

Truck driver Jimmy Mayes holds his chihuahua, Coco, while waiting to pick up a load at a truck stop in October in Atlanta. Federal rules for truckers have changed to include more rest time and breaks, which has upset the trucking industry.

But the trucking industry?which has sued to have the rules reversed?is warning that they will mean more highway traffic and high shipping costs for consumers.

The industry also argues that it's already doing a good job of reducing accidents, and that government data supports that position. The number of people killed each year in large truck crashes has fallen by almost 30 percent, to nearly 4,000 in 2011 from 5,282 in 2000, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

"This isn't the trucking world of old," said Spoon, 40, a third-generation trucker who has been driving full-time since 2000. "When the lay person who doesn't work within the industry thinks of trucking they think of 'Smokey and the Bandit.' That's just not the way it works. We run safe, we run compliant."

But the federal safety administration counters that nearly 4,000 truck crashes a year is still too many. The new rules, it maintains, will prevent about 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries, and save 19 lives each year, according to its analysis.

"There has been progress on reducing the number of fatal truck crashes," said Marissa Padilla, a spokeswoman for the federal safety administration. "But we know that fatigue is still a serious challenge. The bottom line is that our analysis shows that these new rules will save lives, prevent crashes and prevent injuries."

The latest example surfaced last week after a federal probe into the March 28 crash that killed an Illinois State Police trooper revealed that the driver of the semi-truck that slammed into his cruiser had been working more than 14 hours and had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that federal records show the driver and United Van Lines have been fined for violating rules requiring drivers to get adequate rest.

The newspaper reported that the 26-year-old driver worked for Barrett Moving and Storage, an agent of United Van Lines. He has not been charged in connection with the March 28 crash in Chicago's northern suburbs. Trooper James Sauter of Vernon Hills died in that crash.

The Department of Transportation contends the new rules would also save money. The department's analysis found that in 2009, large truck and bus accidents cost about $20 billion in medical and insurance costs, infrastructure damage, lost wages and productivity. The analysis also estimated $470 million in benefits from reduced driver mortality.

The trucking industry disputes those figures.

"We are extremely skeptical based on their analysis," said Dave Osiecki, head of policy and regulatory affairs at the American Trucking Associations. "We've dug into their documents over and over again and there's good reason to be skeptical."

Researchers concede that it's tough to draw up detailed estimates of the broad economic and health impact of changes in rest patterns for long-haul truckers. But most agree that the link between fatigue and highway accidents is well established.

"There are a lot of research and papers, and science really drove this policy," said Richard Hanowski, director of the Center for Truck and Bus Safety at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. "I think that's what we want: Regulation that's well-informed and that's based on all of the research that's out there."

No one disputes that the rules also come with a cost to the trucking industry. More breaks and time off the road means it will take more drivers?and more trucks to move the same volume of goods. That cost impact won't be felt right away because shipping volumes tend to slacken in the summer months and pick up again in the fall.

So don't be surprised if you end up paying a little more for shipping when you do your holiday shopping online this year.

"The direct cost of operating a trucking company is more expensive come July 1," said Derek Leathers, chief operating officer of Werner Enterprises, an Omaha-based carrier that operates a fleet of more than 7,250 trucks. "So our costs will go up, and therefore our prices will go up."

(Read More:Analysis: Thrifty US Truckers Wary of Pricey Natural Gas Vehicles)

Industry estimates vary, but the overall productivity impact is expected to be relatively small?reducing the average carrier's capacity by roughly 3 percent.

The impact, though, will be concentrated for certain types of shipments. The transportation department?s analysis shows that more than 85 percent of drivers will see little to no change in their schedules as a result of the rule. But time-sensitive shipments?like refrigerated produce?may have to be handed off, pony express style?to avoid delays.

That means carriers would have to find more qualified drivers at a time when the industry already is having a hard time filling openings. It's not hard to see why. Trucking is not an easy way to make a living. Drivers spend days?sometimes weeks on the road?working irregular hours for a median wage of $39,700 a year or about $19 an hour. Driver turnover last year topped 100 percent, according to industry estimates.

The new regulations may have the unintended consequence of putting more traffic on the nation's already congested highways, according to some truckers. The new rules require drivers to "restart" their week with two consecutive rest periods between 1 and 5 a.m. The goal is to encourage drivers to get a full night's rest, according to the DOT.

But that new mandatory start time coincides with the start of the morning commute.

"So you're going have a much higher percent of trucks entering the road around rush hour," said Werner's Leathers. "Traditionally we like to get into and out of cities in the early morning hours before the motoring public is on the roadways."

Drivers say they're resigned to adjusting to the new rules, but those rules could be rolled back.

In March, the American Trucking Association presented oral arguments in a lawsuit asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the new rules. It's not clear when that ruling will be handed down.

?By CNBC's John W. Schoen. Follow him on Twitter at@johnwschoen.

? 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2e011863/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cfeds0Etruckers0Eclash0Eover0Enew0Esafety0Erules0E6C10A48960A7/story01.htm

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Mexico Candidate Wounded in Third Attack on Politicians

Gunmen attacked a woman running for the Oaxaca state legislature on Saturday, wounding her while killing her husband and an assistant in the third shooting against politicians this week ahead of Mexican local elections.

Rosalia Palma, a member of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was traveling on a highway in a sport-utility vehicle when assailants fired 35 times with R-15 assault rifles and 9mm handguns, state police said.

Palma was seriously wounded while her husband, Efrain Cruz Bruno, and assistant, Talia Cruz Ibanez, died in the attack in the southern state. The candidate, running in a coalition with the Green Party, was taken to a hospital in the state capital.

The attack came two days after the leader of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) in Oaxaca was found dead with three gunshot wounds to the head in the municipality of Tuxtepec.

Elsewhere, two politicians dropped out of the elections in the northwestern state of Sinaloa after another candidate was assassinated in the region plagued by drug violence.

Esteban Lopez Beltran and Saul Rubio were respectively running for mayor and local legislator in the municipality of Sinaloa as part of the July 7 elections taking place in 14 Mexican states.

They had been campaigning under the "Together You Win" coalition grouping the PRD, the fellow leftist Workers Party (PT) and the conservative National Action Party (PAN).

But Eleazar Armenta, campaign coordinator and city council candidate in the town of Sinaloa, was shot dead last Sunday.

"The outlook generated by the violence in this municipality is tough, which is why we decided to suspend campaign activities and warn the (PAN's) national and state leadership about the situation," local party official Yudit del Rincon told Agence France Presse.

The PRI has also toned down its campaigning in Sinaloa after Armenta's murder.

Mexico has endured a relentless wave of drug violence that left some 70,000 people dead between 2006-2012, when Felipe Calderon held the presidency. Dozens of local politicians were killed during that period.

Nearly 5,300 people have been killed in murders related to organized crime since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December, according to official figures.

Source: http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/88796-mexico-candidate-wounded-in-third-attack-on-politicians

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Atheists' monument near Ten Commandments

STARKE, Fla. (AP) ? A group of atheists unveiled a monument to their nonbelief in God on Saturday to sit alongside a granite slab that lists the Ten Commandments in front of the Bradford County courthouse.

As a small group of protesters blasted Christian country music and waved "Honk for Jesus" signs, the atheists celebrated what they believe is the first atheist monument allowed on government property in the United States.

"When you look at this monument, the first thing you will notice is that it has a function. Atheists are about the real and the physical, so we selected to place this monument in the form of a bench," said David Silverman, president of American Atheists.

It also serves another function ? a counter to the religious monument that the New Jersey-based group wanted removed. It's a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

American Atheists sued to try to have the stone slab with the Ten Commandments taken away from the courthouse lawn in this rural, conservative north Florida town best known for the prison that confines death row inmates. The Community Men's Fellowship erected the monument in what's described as a free speech zone. During mediation on the case, the atheist group was told it could have its own monument, too.

"We're not going to let them do it without a counterpoint," Silverman said. "If we do it without a counterpoint, it's going to appear very strongly that the government actually endorses one religion over another, or ? I should say ? religion in general over non-religion."

About 200 people attended the unveiling. Most were supportive, though there were protesters, including a group from Florida League of the South that had signs that said "Yankees Go Home."

"We reject outsiders coming to Florida ? especially from outside what we refer to as the Bible Belt ? and trying to remake us in their own image," said Michael Tubbs, state chairman of the Florida League of the South. "We do feel like it's a stick in the eye to the Christian people of Florida to have these outsiders come down here with their money and their leadership and promote their outside values here."

After a cover was taken off the 1,500-pound granite bench Saturday, people rushed to have their pictures taken on it. The bench has quotes from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists. It also has a list of Old Testament punishments for violating the Ten Commandments, including death and stoning.

"Some people think it's an attack simply by us exerting our existence. They put a monument on a public lawn that, if you put it in context, says atheists should be killed," Silverman said. "It is an attack, but it's an attack on Christian privilege, not an attack on Christians themselves, and not so much an attack on Christianity."

At one point someone in a car driving by tossed a toilet seat and a roll of toilet paper at the crowd. Neither struck anyone. At another point, Eric Hovind, 35, of Pensacola jumped atop the peak of the monument and shouted his thanks to the atheists for giving him a platform to declare Jesus is real. Atheists shouted at him, and he stepped down after about a minute. One man yelled that religion is a fairy tale.

"The problem is it's not a fairy tale," Hovind said. "We definitely have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion."

Hovind and Tubbs did say they respect the right of the group to install the monument, even if they disagree with the message behind it.

And the atheists said they expected protesters.

"There always are," said Rick Wingrove, the director of a Washington D.C.-area office of American Atheists. "We protests their events, they protests our events. As long as everybody's cordial and let people speak. This is our day, not theirs. We're fine with them being here."

A call to the group that sponsored the Ten Commandments monument, the Community Men's Fellowship, wasn't returned. But the group gave Facebook updates on the legal battle with the American Atheists and praised the compromise that allowed them to keep their monument.

"We want you all to remember that this issue was won on the basis of this being a free speech issue, so don't be alarmed when the American Atheists want to erect their own sign or monument. It's their right. As for us, we will continue to honor the Lord and that's what matters," the group posted.

While Silverman said he believes religion is wrong and teachings in the Bible are violent, he said he welcomes non-Christian religions to follow the atheists' example and put in their own monuments in free-speech zones.

"I will back them because it will be their right," he said. "This is one of the tricks that Christians have used, because they go up and call it a free-speech zone and then they're unopposed. They get their government legitimization because nobody else calls their bluff and puts something in."

____

Follow Brendan Farrington on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bsfarrington

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/atheists-unveil-fla-monument-near-ten-commandments-195201537.html

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State Dept. identifies American killed in Egypt

JERUSALEM (AP) ? The State Department has identified the American killed in Egypt during violent clashes between government supporters and opponents.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, traveling with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the Middle East, says Andrew Pochter was killed Friday in Alexandria. The department has issued a warning advising Americans to defer nonessential travel to Egypt because of the continuing violence there.

Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, says in a statement on its website that Pochter was a 21-year-old student from Chevy Chase, Md., working in Egypt as an intern for a non-profit education organization.

The State Department says the young American was killed while photographing battles between supporters and foes of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Details were not available.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-dept-identifies-american-killed-egypt-084749398.html

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