UN makes record aid appeal of 7.4 bn dollars for 2011 AFP

“On behalf of the millions of people needing urgent help and the hundreds of organisations that have come together to devise these plans, I appeal for 7.4 billion dollars to help some of the most vulnerable people in the world survive the effects of disaster and conflict,” said UN chief Ban Ki-moon in the foreword of the aid appeal.
The biggest share of the appeal — 1.7 billion dollars — will go to Sudan, where millions have been displaced from troubled Darfur alone.
Much of the funds are budgeted for food and livelihoods, and the UN pointed out that aid efforts will continue “life-saving assistance,” but also help the country to strengthen its preparedness against future shocks.
The massive 2010 natural catastrophes in Pakistan and Haiti will also require close to two billion dollars in total.
In Pakistan, where homes for millions of people have been washed away by historic floods, funds are needed to build shelter, as well as provide access to clean drinking water, food, sanitation and healthcare.
“The overarching goal of this plan is to prevent excess morbidity and mortality and to enable flood-affected communities to return to their normal lives,” said the UN.
In earthquake-ravaged Haiti, where a cholera epidemic since mid-October has killed at least 1,721 people, the lion’s share of the funds would go towards water and sanitation.
“The pace at which the current cholera epidemic has spread underlines the fact that too many people are still vulnerable to water-borne infection, nearly a year after the earthquake,” the UN said.
Other countries or regions covered in the appeal include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Somalia, Kenya, Chad, Zimbabwe, west Africa, Yemen, Niger, Central African Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Djibouti.
“Humanitarian action is no substitute for development that alleviates poverty; but it is unconscionable to fail to act to save lives and to help people regain decent living conditions in any cases, whether the root causes of a crisis come from extreme chronic vulnerabilities and accumulated stresses or a sudden extraordinary event,” stressed the UN.

Randy Shannon Player Profile

When you think of college football over the last quarter century, you think of the Miami Hurricanes. And when you think of the Miami Hurricanes, you think of Randy Shannon.
Shannon enters his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater's program leading the Hurricanes to a 9-4 overall mark with a 5-3 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference and an appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl in 2009. Along the journey, Miami knocked off three teams ranked in the Top 25 in its first four games, had nine players earn All-ACC postseason honors and saw its offense put up the most yards (5,199) since its national title contending 2002 team.
In 2009, Shannon guided his team to the program's best mark since the 2005 campaign as Miami made its 35th overall bowl appearance. Four Hurricanes - Allen Bailey, Matt Bosher, Jason Fox and Brandon Harris - earned first team All-ACC honors, and Miami is one of only nine teams to rank in the top 35 in both total offense and total defense. After the season, UM Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt and University President Donna E. Shalala signed Shannon to a new four-year contract on May 12, 2010.
"There's no other place I'd rather be than coaching Hurricanes football. I'm excited about the momentum we continue to build and our strong recruiting classes," said Shannon. "We have dedicated student athletes and experienced and committed coaching staff, a strong athletic program and the University leadership's support --all important components consistent with long term success."
"We are very proud of the positive steps our football program has taken under the leadership of Coach Shannon," said Hocutt. `With a commitment to excellence in the classroom, in the community, and in competition, we are well on our way, once again, to the top of the college football world."
Shannon is 21-17 in three seasons now at Miami, but most importantly Shannon's team has had success off the field. When the Hurricanes took the field in the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl, 13 of the 18 seniors on the roster had received their degrees. All of Shannon's teams have continued to uphold to UM's academic success off the field. His UM football teams have achieved NCAA Academic Progress Rates (APR) of 978, 977, 969 and 966, which have all ranked in the top 10 nationally. The 978 APR in the 2010 APR report was tied for the sixth highest rate in the country. The 977 APR in the 2009 report was the 7th-highest rate in the country out of 119 Bowl-Subdivision football programs. Those rates also were the second highest in the Atlantic Coast Conference and highest among all schools in Florida.
In his second season in 2008, he guided the Hurricanes to the program's 34th overall bowl appearance at the 2008 Emerald Bowl. Miami finished the 2008 season 7-6 and 4-4 in the ACC which was just one game out of first place in the league.
In 2008, Shannon's squad had a five-game winning streak, which was the longest for the Hurricanes since 2005. Freshman linebacker Sean Spence was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and kicker Matt Bosher was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the nation's best kicker. Four freshmen - LB Sean Spence, DT Marcus Forston, DE Marcus Robinson, PR/KR Travis Benjamin - earned freshman All-America honors. Miami also ranked No. 7 nationally in pass defense, 25th in tackles for loss and 28th overall in total defense yielding 317.56 yards per game. The 2008 Hurricanes also were among top teams in the ACC in punt returns (first), pass defense (second), scoring offense (third), net punting (fourth) and tackles for loss (fourth).
Shannon was named head football coach of the University of Miami on December 8, 2006, following six seasons serving as the team's defensive coordinator. He coached top 10 defenses in five of those six seasons.
A native of Miami, a former Hurricanes player and a graduate of the University, Shannon played on or was a coach for three of the school's five national championship teams. He played for the Hurricanes from 1985 through 1988 and had been an assistant coach for 13 seasons before being named the 20th head coach in school history.
Shannon coached Miami to a 31-3 win over Marshall in his head coaching debut on Sept 1, 2007. The Hurricanes went on to finish 5-7 and 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His Hurricanes showed promise for the future of the program. Shannon's 2007 team upheld UM's academic success off the field. The UM football team achieved a NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 969, which was the 8th-highest rate in the country out of 119 Bowl-Subdivision football programs. Miami's 2008 signing class ranked as the top class in the country by ESPN.com. The 2009 signing class ranked in the top 10 nationally as Miami signed six players ranked in the ESPN.com Top 150.
"Randy Shannon is Miami - tough, disciplined, smart, caring, passionate, enthusiastic, and no-nonsense," said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala. "He has been preparing himself for a head coaching position his whole life and I am very happy that the opportunity came at the University of Miami, his alma mater."
In his six seasons as defensive coordinator, the Hurricanes had seven All-America players (and he tutored eight other All-Americans as a position coach). As a head coach and defensive coordinator, he's coached 14 defensive players who were selected in the first round of the NFL draft. As a player, Shannon was a member of five teams that went to bowl games (including one as a redshirt freshman). He has coached in 12 bowl games.
"This is my dream job. It always has been," Shannon said. "This program is not at a standstill. The program is not on a downslide. We are on an upward movement. As a coach, you want a challenge. I want somebody to say that I can't do it. If I hear `I can't,' I'm going to prove you wrong. Nobody can ever tell you that you cannot achieve what you want. That's what I believe in.
"I want to make sure everyone understands that we will get it done at the University of Miami," Shannon continued. "We're not a program that's going to stand still. You never stay the same in life. You always go up and down. You try to get better every year, every day, every week, every second."
Shannon attended Miami's Norland High School and earned all-state and honorable mention All-America recognition from Street & Smith's as a senior linebacker at Norland. He also lettered in basketball, averaging 19 points a game, and he competed in the triple jump on the track and field team.
As a player at Miami, Shannon was a four-year letterman at linebacker and the starter on the 1987 national championship team. He received the Christopher Plumer Award for most inspirational player as a senior in 1988. He was described by his coaches as "a coach on the field." Shannon concluded his career in 1988 when he ranked fourth on the team in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss, while leading the team in passes broken up and forced fumbles.
An 11th-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, he became the first rookie to start at outside linebacker for Dallas since 1963 and was also a standout on special teams. Shannon played for the Cowboys for two seasons before going into coaching.
He was a graduate assistant in 1991 when the Hurricanes won their fourth national championship. In 1992 he became a full-time assistant coach working with the defensive line, and from 1993-97 he coached the team's linebackers. He was a defensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins in 1998 and 1999 before assuming the role of linebackers coach in 2000.
Shannon returned to his alma mater in 2001 as defensive coordinator. That year, the Miami Hurricanes won their fifth national championship and he became the first UM coach to be named the winner of the Frank Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation's top assistant coach.
Shannon has produced defenses that rank among the best in the history of the program. Despite a 7-6 record in 2006, the defense ranked seventh in the country in total defense (allowing only 255.5 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (a team-record 67.9 yards a game) and 13th in scoring defense (15.5).
In 2005, Shannon's aggressive 4-3 scheme led the nation most of the season in nearly every category and finished No. 1 in pass defense (152.17 ypg) and pass efficiency (89.48 rating), fourth in total defense (270.08 ypg) and scoring defense (14.25 points), and 23rd in run defense (117.92). He was named Defensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com.
In 2004, Shannon's defense ranked ninth in the country in pass defense despite having three new starters in the secondary. The UM defenses in 2002 and 2003 led the nation in fewest passing yards allowed, and the 2003 unit was fourth nationally in pass efficiency defense (96.16 rating), while finishing second in the nation in total defense (257.5 ypg). The 2003 Hurricanes also ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense (fourth, 15.1 ppg).
His 2002 unit led the nation in passing yards allowed (119.7 ypg) and in pass efficiency defense (83.91 rating), while finishing seventh in the nation in total defense (285.0 ypg), all of which was accomplished with an entirely new starting unit in the defensive secondary.
In 2001, Miami led the nation in turnover margin by forcing a school-record 27 interceptions and 45 turnovers. Miami defenders allowed a national-best 9.4 points per game, led the nation in pass efficiency defense (75.60 rating), ranked second in pass defense (138.2 ypg) and was sixth in total defense (270.9 ypg). The 2001 Hurricanes allowed just 12 touchdowns (seven rushing, five passing) and scored seven touchdowns of their own. Shannon's defenses have been ranked in the top 10 in turnover margin twice and led the nation in 2001.
It's no wonder Shannon has been successful as a coach. As a linebacker during the late 1980s, he was a film room guru, studying hours and hours of tape to learn the offensive tendencies of the opponents he faced each Saturday on the football field.
His commitment to being a student of the game often paid huge dividends, such as on Sept. 5, 1987, in the Orange Bowl, when he returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown in the Hurricanes' 31-4 romp over the Florida Gators. But his studious approach to game preparation wasn't limited solely to the gridiron. Shannon was a true student-athlete, graduating with a degree in liberal arts. "It was about more than just the X's and O's," Shannon said. "I wanted to grow intellectually, and I knew that academics were a key to success."

Randy Shannon fired

Former University of Miami head coach Randy Shannon yells at an official during a 31-17 loss to Virginia Tech. Alex Broadwell // The Miami Hurricane

After four tumultuous years. the University of Miami fired football head coach Randy Shannon Saturday night.
The decision was made hours after Miami’s embarrassing 23-20 overtime home loss to the University of South Florida Saturday afternoon.
“We have made a decision to seek new leadership for our football program,” Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said. “Our expectations are to compete for championships and return to the top of the college football world. We will immediately begin a national search.”
Shannon was 28-22 in four years running the helm at UM. He was 16-16 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Shannon had a 4-9 mark verses ranked opponents and was 0-2 in bowl games. Miami never once won the Coastal Division in the ACC and experienced some of its worse losses in program history under his watch.
UM lost 48-0 to Virginia in the final game at the historic Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes also lost by 28 to in state rival Florida State at home earlier this year. The icing on the cake was when the orange and green lost to lowly USF at home after a walk-on freshman quarterback engineered a comeback.
Shannon improved in each of his first three seasons winning five, seven and nine games respectively but this year the team regressed falling to 0-3 verse ranked teams while struggling with Duke and shockingly losing to Virginia and South Florida.
Shannon was a four year letter winner for UM and was the starting linebacker on Miami’s 1987 National Championship team.
During his reign, Miami improved its Graduation Rates and Academic Progress Reports and only had one off field arrest, but inconsistencies on the gridiron plagued him.
ESPN has reported that offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has been fired as well and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will be the interim head coach.
Hocutt will address the media at a news conference at the Hecht Athletic Center Sunday at 1 p.m.

One Night with Fanny Brice – CD

If you follow “Our Reviews” on DC Theatre Scene you have already seen Debbie Jackson‘s positive review of the American Century Theater’s production of this show which runs through November 27 at the Rosslyn Spectrum. If you follow “Their Reviews” on the site you may also have found a link to my less positive review of the show. Or you may have read Joel Markowitz’s interview of Esther Covington who plays Fanny Brice in the show. Both reviews and the interview, however, give you a feel for the material Chip Deffa’s script provides for the one woman who plays Fanny Brice in this bio musical.

Bruce Yeko’s record label, Original Cast Records, has released an album of the show as performed by a different actress than the one performing at the Spectrum. The recording features Kimberly Faye Greenberg in the persona of Fanny Brice. Greenberg is the actress who has been appearing off-Broadway beside Brian Childers for the past year in the Danny Kaye bio-musical developed at the American Century Theater, Danny & Sylvia.
It is difficult to determine if Greenberg’s performance is better or worse than Covington’s at the Spectrum because, while enough spoken material is included in the recording to follow the story of Brice’s life, the studio recording gives little clue as to how well the vocalist might captivate an audience … and it is precisely that talent in Fanny Brice that made her a star for over forty years.
Still, if you come away from Covington’s performance wishing you had a souvenir of the Fanny Brice songs she either just introduced you to or renewed your acquaintance with, Original Cast Records OC3831 will fill the bill. Also, if you happen to miss Covington’s three week stint in the piece but you wish you could have had this primer on the career and off-stage life of the star who inspired Funny Girl, you can use the disc and the accompanying liner notes to familiarize yourself with both story and song from the career that went from vaudeville to Ziegfeld Follies to radio in headline-making steps.
The prime Brice material is all here. “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” gets a particularly strong reading by Greenberg which is interesting because it is the same song that Covington sells most convincingly at the Spectrum.
Some important numbers are given brief statements. These numbers, like “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody” which sets up the standards of the Ziegfeld Follies for the show, serve their purpose in the storytelling but aren’t drawn out any longer than necessary.  Others, like “Ja-Da” and “That Mysterious Rag” serve as frameworks for short vignettes in quick succession that move the narrative of Miss Brice’s life forward rapidly.
It is the more famous standards that are part of the Brice legacy that make this recording tempting to those wanting a quick reference to all things Brice. The two “Rose” specialties, “Rose of Washington Square” and “Second Hand Rose” are here in full renditions and the indispensable “My Man” is made all the more affecting because the relevance of the song to Brice’s disastrous relationship with Nicky Arnstein is interspersed between choruses.
Unlike the American Century Theater version of the show which had musical director Tom Fuller on stage at the piano as the only accompaniment, the recording has Greenberg being accompanied by pianist Mark Goodman and violinist Jonathan Russell. The violin does make the sound a bit richer, and Russell’s playing is tenderly supportive, but it is the vocal performance that dominates all of the 24 tracks of the album.

Fanny Brice

Fanny Brice’s life and her success story have inspired many others far beyond her time. And after thirteen years since her death, exactly in 1968, her life was portrayed in the movie called Funny Girl.
Fanny Bryce is one of the most influential women of her time. She is an American woman who began her career and did all the way to the famous Broadway. She was known for her acting talent as a film star and comedian. Her work was thought to be one of the best because it was not also the operator, but also the star of the radio series of the highest-rated comedy, The Baby Snooks Show.
His life and her success story have inspired many others far beyond her time. And after thirteen years since her death, exactly in 1968, her life was portrayed in the movie called Funny Girl.
The film managed to score a great success not only for the film itself, but also to the cast who starred in the film. The film was directed by William Wyler, from a screenplay that was made by Isobel Lennart of her book for the stage musical production itself. The film itself was produced by Brice’s son-in-law, Ray Stark, Tony Stark, apparently.
In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked the film # 16 on their list to commemorate 100 years of Music. There are plenty of memorable songs that are coming from this movie. The songs on “People” and “Do not Rain on My Parade” at # 13 and # 46, respectively, in its 2004 list of 100 Years … 100 Songs. And the line “Hello, sweetheart”, has earned its place at # 81 in 2005 in its list of 100 Years … 100 movie quotes, while Barbara Streisand, the actress who plays Fanny Brice famously stepping stone in her career by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The film itself focuses on the stormy relationship that Bryce had with the famous entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Nicky Arnstein, who was played by Omar Sharif, was a player who decided to marry Fanny after winning a poker game. He then moved to a big house and expensive and has a daughter there. But again, your business begins to fail, which forced them to move to a small apartment. Want to live without the help of her wife; Arnstein became involved in the scheme of bonds. It is a crime that leads him to serve her sentence in prison for eighteen months. After being released, the two met again to finish in a brief relationship before it finally ended their relationship.
The love life of a famous person often comes at the wrong end. But again, Fanny Bryce has certainly been a “fun girl” that inspired many actresses long after their glory days.

"The Biggest Loser" tidbits: Strike news and Makeover Week details

Taking my cue from Gail Gedan Spencer over at the Examiner, I think this is going to be the last I write about the strike at "The Biggest Loser" ranch until the thing is resolved. There's just not much else to say, except...What a shame. I hope this ends soon.
Gail alerted me to this story in The Hollywood Reporter, which says that 100 picketers lined up outside the ranch entrance early Monday morning and greeted arriving replacement workers by yelling "Scab!" and "Turn around!" But that was as far as the nastiness went. THR reports: "In a few cases, picketers slapped the vehicles, but THR observed no injuries or apparent property damage. The picketing was orderly, and the vehicles were permitted to enter."
So, apparently, we are up and running again with the production of Season 11. Hopefully, I'll be able to report the end of this whole strike mess in the near future.
Getting back to Season 10...Makeover Week is on its way! Everyone's favorite episode (besides premiere and finale) airs Nov. 23, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the day before the "Where Are They Now?" special.

Advertisement

This season's makeovers will have a pink theme -- as in pink for breast cancer awareness. "The Biggest Loser" is teaming up with Ford Warriors in Pink, the automaker's campaign to support the fight against breast cancer.
What does that mean? The winner of the weekly challenge will get a 2011 Ford Edge. And as part of their makeovers, the contestants will be modeling Warriors in Pink apparel. I am not sure if that means the clothes will actually be pink, but judging from the campaign's official website store, the color pink will probably be integrated somehow.
Last note on the Ford connection: You can enter to win your own 2011 Edge at www.nbc.com/warriorsinpink. 
That's it for now. See y'all tonight at 8 on Twitter, where we'll follow Week 9 together.

Who Won Dancing with the Stars?

With a season full of surprises and shocking eliminations, it's no mystery that Tuesday's finale of Dancing with the Stars was a nail-biter, right down to the last remaining minutes of the telecast.



As consistently low-scoring Bristol Palin advanced ahead of stronger dancers like Audrina Patridge and Brandy, fans and the media argued about whether Dancing had lost its credibility.

Palin held her own on Monday night's performance show against the season's most dynamic performer, actress Jennifer Grey, and charismatic actor Kyle Massey. Still, Palin received the lowest scores.

Did Palin's fans vote in droves to ensure she takes the Season 11 mirror-ball trophy home to Alaska? Or did America truly vote for the best dancer – which, depending on whom you ask, is either Grey or Massey?



It's Grey!

The audience cheered and the actress broke into tears as her professional partner, Derek Hough, jumped up and and down. This is the third win for Hough, who also had victories with Nicole Scherzinger and Brooke Burke.

Grey, 50, endured health problems throughout the competition and on Tuesday night danced through pain from a slipped disc.

Massey, 19, came in second place, and Palin's amazing run ended. The 20-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin had a third-place finish.