Madonna?s Decision Not To Build School Angers Malawi Residents

Madonna news Madonnas Decision Not To Build School Angers Malawi Residents

 

Malawian residents are angry at Madonna, after the singer scrapped her plans to build a school as promised.

Madonna had planned to build a school for girls for the people in Malawi but decided against the project.  Now the Malawi residents are angry, claiming they were tricked into giving up their land.

The singer had planned to build the school in the village of Chinkhota, close to the capital city Lilongwe, through her Raising Malawi charity.

But Madonna announced earlier this week that the project was not going to happen because of financial mismanagement.

The decision not to build the educational facility is drawing criticism from people in the area as well as those that gave up their land to the government for the school to be built.

Grevansio Makina, 42, siod. ?I used to have a maize garden here but I was told to make way for the school. We agreed to give up the land because we hoped we will get some employment? but we have been duped.?

The leader of the village Chief Chinkhota said, ?I don?t know what to tell my people for it was me who convinced them to give up their land. Now they think I fooled them? Maybe I should just give the land back to the owners. But my hands are tied since we gave the land to the government, that in turn gave it to Madonna. We don?t know what to do.?

Madonna has put millions into Malawi through the charity in the past few years.  Her two youngest children Mercy and David were adopted from the country.

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Images: wenn.com

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Vanessa Hudgens may only be 22, but the High School Musical star already uses anti-wrinkle cream.

The actress feels that to keep her career going, she has to preserve her youthful looks

'I think women get the pressure more because when men age, it's sexy,' says Vanessa.

'They get to have their grey hair.

'When women age, it's perceived in Hollywood that they need a lift and they need a tuck, and yadda yadda.'

But Vanessa, who split from Disney co-star Zac Efron, 23, at the end of last year, likes to take a break from always looking Hollywood perfect.

'I go through days upon days where I just will not want to put on make-up or do my hair and just be in sweats,' she tells The Sun.

'It's a nice break, not having to get all done up.'

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Alice Hoffman's 'Red Garden' could use a little pruning

By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY

So how does Alice Hoffman's Red Garden grow?

  • The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

    handout

    The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

handout

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

Lush and full, intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass. Hoffman digs up the dirt on 250 years of Blackwell history: its settlers and interlopers, their descendants and the one cryptic constant in their lives, a garden of red earth that nourishes only red vegetation.

The prose, fittingly hushed, toys with the truth of the town, as though the facts were "stretched out like the muslin" used by the early residents for their needlepoint samplers.

Of course, in unearthing the legend of Blackwell, Hoffman taps into the story of America, ticking off often predictable milestones Forrest Gump-style. The great influenza of 1918 strikes? Check. The Great Depression and the WPA leave their mark? Check. Vietnam, communes and hippies turn up? Check, check, check.

The Red Garden

By Alice Hoffman

Crown, 270 pp., $25

With every chapter of the novel comes a new chapter in the town's history ? and a new, if vaguely familiar, crop of characters (they're the children and grandchildren of the folks in the preceding chapters, after all). The effect is dizzying.

It would have been helpful if Garden had opened (or ended) with various Blackwell family trees ? but then maybe Hoffman's point is to show how tangled our collective roots really are.

Hoffman describes a river as "changing and quick, always a surprise." The same could be said for her Garden.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

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Alice Hoffman's 'Red Garden' could use a little pruning

By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY

So how does Alice Hoffman's Red Garden grow?

  • The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

    handout

    The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

handout

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman is intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass.

Lush and full, intertwined with tales of the families who founded the tiny (fictional) Berkshires town of Blackwell, Mass. Hoffman digs up the dirt on 250 years of Blackwell history: its settlers and interlopers, their descendants and the one cryptic constant in their lives, a garden of red earth that nourishes only red vegetation.

The prose, fittingly hushed, toys with the truth of the town, as though the facts were "stretched out like the muslin" used by the early residents for their needlepoint samplers.

Of course, in unearthing the legend of Blackwell, Hoffman taps into the story of America, ticking off often predictable milestones Forrest Gump-style. The great influenza of 1918 strikes? Check. The Great Depression and the WPA leave their mark? Check. Vietnam, communes and hippies turn up? Check, check, check.

The Red Garden

By Alice Hoffman

Crown, 270 pp., $25

With every chapter of the novel comes a new chapter in the town's history ? and a new, if vaguely familiar, crop of characters (they're the children and grandchildren of the folks in the preceding chapters, after all). The effect is dizzying.

It would have been helpful if Garden had opened (or ended) with various Blackwell family trees ? but then maybe Hoffman's point is to show how tangled our collective roots really are.

Hoffman describes a river as "changing and quick, always a surprise." The same could be said for her Garden.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

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Courteney Cox & David Arquette Hopefully Reconciling?

Courteney Cox praises David Arquette Courteney Cox & David Arquette Hopefully Reconciling?

 

Courteney Cox and David Arquette appear to be reconciling after being spotted holding hands at the ?Scream 4? press junket on Thursday.

Courteney Cox and David Arquette, who split months ago, seem to be not so estranged lately.

Cox, 46, gushed at the ?Scream 4? event talking about her feelings for David Arquette.

?Oh my God, I?m so proud of him!? Cox said of Arquette, 37, the dad to their six-year-old daughter Coco.

Courteney seems to have a renewed physical attraction to her estranged hubby, adding, ?Best he?s ever looked! He?s so cute that I?m like, dude, I don?t understand. Really?! Why are you that cute right now??

It appears their time apart and his stint in rehab might have strengthened their relationship.  Cox said, ?Our communication and the way we are, just learning about each other in a different way, it?s smart.?

?It?s weird to be at this age and look at ourselves but it?s hard and it?s important and I?m glad we are, so I love him.?

David Arquette seems to feel the same about Courteney.

?I love Courteney,? Arquette said his interview with The Oprah Winfrey Show. ?I know that I will be with her for my whole life. And we have an amazing family together and we?re really great parents together.?

 

Click thumbnails for larger pictures

Images: wenn.com

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One of the Few Female VC?s in Europe joins Board of Directors of Just-Eat

Greylock Partners is a new active investor in the UK, planning on doing more than a handful of deals in 2011. A private venture capital firm, founded in 1965, with committed capital of over $2 billion under management.  Its known operations are in the Bay Area, Boston, China, India and Israel, and recently Laurel Bowden, who headed the Israeli office moved to start its London office. With that she has joined a small group of female VC?s in Europe.

Greylock partners with entrepreneurs to build market-leading companies, and has already funded and helped build several hundred successful companies. More than 150 of the companies have gone on to IPOs and more than 100 have gone on to profitable M&A events.

Lauarel?s areas of focus include software, mobile, Internet infrastructure and e-commerce, where Europe is a key market. Her investments at Greylock include Wonga and notonthehighstreet. And a recent investment is online restaurant directory and ordering service Just-Eat, that has raised USD48m in a Series B funding round led by Greylock Partners and Redpoint Venturer, as reported by Strategic Eye.

Just-Eat partners with 15,000 restaurants across 10 countries, and takes a 10% commission on food orders placed through its website. The firm claims the amount of orders it received doubled in 2010, and says it is now a leading market player in the UK and Canada.

CEO Klaus Nyengaard says new funds will be used for international expansion, ensuring that Just-Eat does not become ?a company that is being gobbled up by a big American corporation?.

Greylock?s Laurel Bowden joins Just-Eat?s board of directors.

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