The exhibition “Mark Shagal. Color in black and white” will be held September 26 to November 1 in the National Museum of History and Culture of Belarus in Minsk. See article and Shagal biography below.

In the News

From Itar-tass

Putin says he won’t run for reelection in 2008

18.09.2005, 18.17


MOSCOW, September 18 (Itar-Tass) -- President Vladimir Putin said he would not run for reelection in 2008.

Stability is the key element in the strengthening of present-day Russian statehood, he said. “There is no other way to ensure stability in this country, the society than stable laws, including the fundamental law – the constitution. So, I will not change the constitution under any circumstances,” Putin said in an interview with the Fox News U.S. television channel.
“You want me to solemnly swear and repeat the words I have said 99 times for the 100th time. I think my answers have been clear enough,” he said.
“I have already told you that I will not,” he said in answer to another question if he would run for reelection.

Google to Put Copyright Laws to the Test

By ANICK JESDANUN
AP Internet Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tony Sanfilippo is of two minds when it comes to Google Inc.'s ambitious program to scan millions of books and make their text fully searchable on the Internet.On the one hand, Sanfilippo credits the program for boosting sales of obscure titles at Penn State University Press, where he works. On the other, he's worried that Google's plans to create digital copies of books obtained directly from libraries could hurt his industry's long-term revenues.
With Google's book-scanning program set to resume in earnest this fall, copyright laws that long preceded the Internet look to be headed for a digital-age test.
The outcome could determine how easy it will be for people with Internet access to benefit from knowledge that's now mostly locked up - in books sitting on dusty library shelves, many of them out of print.
Full Text


Sports

From Sunday mail.co.ul (Scotland)
18 September 2005
BELARUS GAME IS SELL-OUT
By Charlie Lavery
http://www.tassphoto.com/images/photo/3/d204/998.JPG
FANS eager to savour Scotland's re-born football team have snapped up every available ticket for the crunch qualifier against Belarus next month.
SFA bosses were confidently predicting a 52,000 sell-out last night after thousands of eager supporters queued for briefs in outlets across the country.Scotland gaffer Walter Smith, Tommy Burns and Ally McCoist have engineered an incredible reversal of fortune in the national team and re-energised fans yesterday raced to bag briefs for the nail-biting climax to the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Despite the demand the SFA deliberately kept prices down for the October 8 match at Hampden, allowing a family of four to attend for just £30.
Queues formed outside Morrisons and Safeway stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh yesterday as the Tartan Army hunted down the tickets
Passionate The supermarkets were flooded with fans looking for briefs and SFA Secretary Andy Mitchell said: "It's more or less a sell-out.
"We have some seats left but the public sale briefs have gone. It's been a fantastic response, just what the team needs.
'The match sold out almost as quickly as the Holland game two years ago, which is great.
"It guarantees a loud and passionate home support."
But not all fans were happy at the ticket sale. Tartan Army regulars in the Scottish Borders complained there were no outlets in their area selling the briefs.
Some supporters had to travel up to Edinburgh after the phone hotline sold out its allocation by 11am.
Paul Graham of the Borders Tartan Army said: "People wanted to take the kids along but the family section tickets were only being sold at the stores and not on the phoneline


From NZCitt.com (New Zealand)
(Note: I apologize for not being able to find a more local or informative version of this artice.)

Vili second in shot put

19 September 2005

Valerie Vili has finished second in the shot put at the IAAF Grand Prix athletics meet in Shanghai, repeating her recent Monaco effort.

Vili has thrown 19.47 metres, 29 cms behind the winner, world champion Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus.


Of the other kiwis in athletics action around the world, Kimberley Smith has finished second in the 3,000 metres at Newcastle Great Run in the UK.

Adrian Blincoe has finished fourth in the mile at the same meet.


Culture

15.09.2005 12:25:58
SECOND STAGE OF INTERNATIONAL PROJECT “MARK SHAGAL. COLOR IN BLACK AND WHITE” STARTS SEPTEMBER 26 IN MINSK


“Mark Shagal. Color in black and white” is the name of the second stage of the joint German-French-Belarusian-Russian project which is successfully presents the art of the great master. In particular, his Germany-related period which has been poorly covered in Belarus so far.

The embassy of Germany in Belarus told BelTA the exposition will stay open until September 21 at the Shagal museum in Vitebsk. September 26 to November 1 the exhibition will be held in the National Museum of History and Culture of Belarus in Minsk. It will showcase 76 paintings and etchings representing various periods of artistic life of the well-known painter. The exhibition will for the first time present the paintings of the master produced in Berlin.

The paintings are provided by private collectors, inheritors of Mark Shagal Meret Meyer Graber and Bella Meyer and by State Art Museum n.a. Pushkin in Moscow, Mark Shagal Museum in Vitebsk. The diplomatic mission stressed that in the framework of the project German collector admirer of the art of Mark Shagal Heinrich Mandel visited Vitebsk. Over almost 15 years he has been cooperating with the Mark Shagal museum in Vitebsk. He donated books about the art of the great painter to the museum. This August Heinrich Mandel received one of the highest German state awards – Federal Cross for Merits” – as a token of acknowledgement of his achievements in interaction with the Mark Shagal museum.

Please click here to read a biography of Shagal


Russians
Written by Sting [& sergei prokofiev!]

In Europe and America there's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the soviets
Mister Khrushchev said, 'we will bury you'
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It'd be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too

How can I save my little boy
From Oppenheimer's deadly toy?
There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology

Believe me when i say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent to put
Words in the mouth of the president
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie we don't believe anymore
Mister Reagan says 'we will protect you'
I don't subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when i say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me and you
Is if the Russians love their children too

(Note: Just a thread thought from the T.A.T.U story from a few days ago.)