EVENTS
• Stop by the Dylan & Rose spring 2011 collection pop-up shop and enjoy cupcakes, Champagne, and a 20 percent discount on the fashion line. Georgia Boutique & Salon, 89A E. Houston St., nr. Bowery (646-827-2428); 6–9.

• See the new spring collections at Bloomingdale's and enjoy informal modeling, live music, and cosmetic consultations. Customers will receive a gift bag and a 25 percent discount with a purchase of $250 or more. 1000 Third Ave., nr. 59th St. (212-705-2000); 5–7.

• Receive a complimentary spray tan with any $100 Trish McEvoy purchase at Bloomingdale's. Through 4/15. 1000 Third Ave., nr. 59th St. (212-705-2000); 11–8. Call 212-705-2202 to make an appointment.

• Browse the latest collection of bridal gowns at the Monique Lhuillier spring 2011 trunk show at Saks. Through 4/16. 611 Fifth Ave., nr. 51st St. (212-753-4000); 10–8. Call 212-940-2269 to make an appointment.

SALES
STARTING TOMORROW
• Womenswear and shoes are up to 75 percent off at Olive & Bette's basement sale. Rebecca Taylor blouses are $76 (originally $302), Cynthia Vincent boots are $120 (originally $478), and Nanette Lepore dresses are $108 (originally $432). 1249 Third Ave., at 72nd St. (212-206-0036); 8–7.

• Shoes by Robert Clergerie start at $150 and womenswear by Edith A. Miller starts at $30 as the brands hold a joint sample sale of their fall 2010 and spring 2011 merchandise. 273 Grand St., Ste. 6E, nr. Forsyth St.; (9:30–6:30).

• Handbags are up to 50 percent off at the Katherine Kwei sample sale. The Donna snake satchel is $800 (originally $1,555), the Joyce clutch in distressed leather is $170 (originally $335), and the Teresa tote in wrinkled calkskin is $350 (originally $625). Through 4/15. 611 Broadway, nr. Houston St., Ste. 742 (646-476-7665); Th–F (10:30–7:30).

• Eyeglasses and sunglasses from Armani, Lafont, Dior, Prada, and more start at $75 at the James Leonard Opticians sample sale. Through 4/16. 1010 Second Ave., nr. 53rd St. (212-753-7733); Th (10–8), F (10–7), S (10–6).

ENDING TOMORROW
• Browse discounted clothes and accessories (most at over 60 percent off) from Alexander Wang and 3.1 Phillip Lim among others at Otte's sale. Through 4/14. 37 W. 26th St., Ste. 305, nr. Broadway; 10–7.

Filed Under: fashion calendar, sales, shopping

As part of our commitment to standards and interoperability, we are excited to provide initial support for the W3C’s Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition) Specification in the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview. The second edition of the SVG spec contains updates to the W3C-Recommended first edition SVG 1.1 specification. We expect SVG, supported by good user and developer experiences, to become an integral part of the web. SVG has many advantages over raster images. With our hardware-accelerated graphics, the time is ripe for a rich and interactive graphics-driven web.

SVG enables powerful new web applications. The format makes use of specific XML tags to generate a vector-based image. This makes SVG more easily read and edited by hand than other graphic formats. And because an SVG file is composed entirely of markup, text within the vector image is searchable. Moreover, SVG benefits from the richness of having a DOM. Images are scriptable graphic objects, enabling much more powerful web applications. It’s possible to create dynamically generated images without requiring server-side scripting or browser plug-ins.

SVG offers many distinct advantages over other formats. SVG images scale up with little increase in file size and with no loss of fidelity, making it ideal for use in smaller images and icons. SVG is also a fantastic format for images with larger dimensions. Maps, charts, and diagrams are examples. Small labels and detailed borders remain intact even when images are scaled down. Key areas of focus, like the text in an organization chart or the border of a country, remain crisp and readable after zooming in on the image. The preservation of information in human-readable markup also makes SVG suitable for Wiki-type collaborative images, as it is easily edited. SVG makes changing labels in charts and diagrams a breeze – only a basic text editor is needed. As native SVG support in web browsers continues to broaden, SVG becomes an increasingly good option for implementing interactive and animated web content.

On Interoperability

We value web developers as our customers and anticipate interoperable SVG becoming a powerful tool that can be written easily across different web browsers. Sometimes, however, developing to that end is not so clear.

Patrick Dengler, a member of the SVG Working Group and Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, is working closely with the SVG Working Group to help define the future of SVG and to ensure that our SVG implementation is interoperable. Though the first edition SVG specification received “Recommendation” status years ago, that specification still has some loose ends. As a result, the current SVG implementations in major web browsers vary both in scope and in behavior. Our goal is to make the lives of developers easier by aiming for interoperability. For the portions of the specification that we are implementing, we adhere closely to the spec. In some cases, our decisions were informed by other browsers’ behaviors and the direction of SVG’s future.

Take, for instance, the behavior that should occur when a <rect> element has negative values for both rx and ry. It is an unclear situation in the 1.1 specification. A note on the page suggests one behavior whereas error processing guidelines suggest another.

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" width="100" height="100">
   <rect x="10" y="10" width="50" height="80" rx="-10" ry="-10" fill="red"/>
</svg>

So which is correct? Presto (Opera) treats the negative rx and ry values as 0, Gecko (Firefox) doesn’t render the rectangle at all, and Webkit (Chrome, Safari) uses the specified negative rx and ry values. All of the major browsers do something different. The result here is that there is one (or none) conforming behavior due to the minor inconsistency in the 1.1 spec. Looking forward, the SVG Tiny 1.2 specification clarifies the behavior by specifying that a negative value is not actually an error but is instead unsupported. This is the behavior that the IE9 implementation follows.

SVG in the IE9 Platform Preview

In HTML5, SVG can be included as inline HTML. Current webpages can be updated to include inline SVG with little alteration to their overall structure! For example, look at the following simple, hand-written markup:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<p style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:9pt;">You can insert vector images using inline HTML! They inherit the CSS styles of parent elements like other HTML5 elements.
<BR>
<svg width="200" height="100">
    <circle cx="50" cy="50" r="45" fill-opacity=".5" fill="red"/>
    <circle cx="100" cy="50" r="45" fill-opacity=".5" fill="yellow"/>
    <circle cx="75" cy="100" r="45" fill-opacity=".5" fill="blue"/>
    <text x="40" y="70" fill="white">Colors!!</text>
</svg>
</p>

The IE9 Platform Preview renders it as:

In addition to creating images from scratch, you can use SVG to mark up existing images without editing the underlying image. The following SVG attempts to point out a couple of tough-to-spot otters:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<svg width="120" height="90" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1">
    <style>
        .highlight {
            stroke-width: 5px;
            stroke: white;
            fill: none;
        }
    </style>

    <image x="0" y="0" width="120" height="90" xlink:href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v160/140/48/1107073/n1107073_31705640_3439.jpg"/>
    <circle cx="90" cy="50" r="15" class="highlight"/>
    <circle cx="22" cy="47" r="10" class="highlight"/>
    <rect x="0" y="0" width="120" height="20" fill-opacity=".5" fill="black"/>
    <text x="5" y="15" fill="white" font-size="8pt" font-family="Verdana">we saw giant otters!</text>
    <rect x="0" y="0" width="120" height="90" stroke-width="1" stroke="black" fill="none"/>
</svg>

Google Maps achieves similar functionality by using SVG to draw polylines overlaying their maps.

In addition to SVG as inline HTML, the Platform Preview supports inclusion of SVG via inline XHTML, the <object> tag, and as a standalone .svg document.

The following table demonstrates how to include SVG by using the four methods currently available.

<!DOCTYPE html>
...
<svg width="120" height="90">
your SVG markup
</svg>
...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<body>
... 
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" width="120" height="90">
your SVG markup
</svg>
...
</body>
</html>

...
<object data<</span>!>="your-SVG-image.svg" 
width="100" height="100" 
type="image/svg+xml"></object>...

<?xml version="1.0" standalone=”no”?>
<!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" 
"http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1">your SVG markup

</svg>

Steven Sinofsky’s Clippy demo at MIX10 showed that SVG attributes can be manipulated via the Internet Explorer Developer Tools. It’s as simple as bringing up the Developer Tools (F12), clicking an SVG element in the HTML tree, and adjusting its Style and Attributes in the Properties Pane on the right. You can experiment with the Developer Tools as a great way to become acquainted with SVG.

SVG-oids game and the German Election map demonstrate just a fraction of SVG’s potential.

VML to SVG Migration Guide. It breaks down VML and SVG by architecture and compares them side-by-side. The use of the more interoperable SVG over VML is highly encouraged.

• Methods of embedding: inline HTML, inline XHTML, <object>, full .svg documents
• Structure: <svg>, <defs>, <use>, <g>, <image>
• Shapes: <circle>, <ellipse>, <rect>, <line>, <polyline>, <polygon>, <path>
• Text
• Filling, Stroking, (CSS3) Color
• DOML2 Core and SVGDOM
• Events
• Presentation Attributes and CSS Styling
• Transforms: translate, skewX, skewY, scale, rotate

• Methods of embedding: <embed>, <iframe>, <img>, css image, .svgz
• Gradients and Patterns
• Clipping, Masking, and Compositing
• Cursor, Marker
• Remainder of Text, Transforms, Events

Windows Internet Explorer Test Drive site contains a few demos and is a good starting point.

Program Manager

INDIAN WELLS – If general manager Matt McEvoy had any doubts about whether the Capitals should acquire Vania King during Tuesday's World TeamTennis draft, they were dispelled last week.

King, the reigning WTT Female MVP for the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, almost beat the No. 4 woman in the world Friday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The 21-year-old Los Angeles-area native led Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, the BNP second seed and 2009 U.S. Open runner-up, 4-1 in the final set before falling 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

McEvoy scouted King in the daytime match in Indian Wells' 16,100-seat stadium.

"She played with a lot of heart on the stadium court, which is one of the biggest in the (world)," McEvoy said. "She played fantastically, and we know her history. It was a priority for us to get her."

The Capitals drafted Carly Gullickson, the 2009 U.S. Open mixed doubles champion with Travis Parrott and daughter of former major-league pitcher Bill Gullickson, with their first-round pick (fifth overall). Sacramento then traded Gullickson and its third-round choice to Springfield for King and the Lasers' fourth-round pick.

The Capitals selected WTT veteran Dusan Vemic in the second round, and Riza Zalameda and Brett Joelson in the fourth (final) round.

It's the second consecutive year the Capitals have acquired the reigning WTT Female MVP on draft day. However, they traded Rennae Stubbs to the Washington Kastles, who went on to win the WTT title at home, four days before the 2009 season opener.

Sacramento acquired Angela Haynes in that deal but sent her back to Washington on Tuesday for financial considerations and left CoCo Vandeweghe unprotected. Boston then took Vandeweghe in the third round.

The draft-day moves give the Capitals, who have struggled the past two years after winning their record sixth WTT title in 2007, an all-new regular roster. They begin their 25th season July 5.

Mark Knowles, a three-time WTT Male MVP in eight seasons with the Capitals, might play some matches for Sacramento, team co-owner Bob Cook said.

Cook also expects International Tennis Hall of Famer Michael Chang to return to the Capitals for one home match and ex-Capitals star Dmitry Tursunov of Folsom to come back for two matches if he has recovered from February foot surgery. The dates for both players have not been determined.

CAPITALS ROSTER

• Brett Joelson, 25, Beaverton, Ore. – Doubles runner-up in $15,000 Brownsville, Texas, tournament last month. Played No. 1 doubles at Texas A&M.;

• Vania King, 21, Los Angeles/Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – No. 32 in world in doubles (sixth in United States), No. 76 in singles (fourth in U.S.). Has won nine doubles titles, one singles crown on elite WTA Tour.

• Dusan Vemic, 33, Serbia – Two-time Grand Slam doubles semifinalist. Also will replace retired Sacramentan Sam Warburg in singles.

• Riza Zalameda, 24, Los Angeles – Played with Sacramento's Yasmin Schnack on UCLA women's 2008 NCAA championship team. Won 2008 NCAA doubles title with Bruins teammate Tracey Lin.

– Paul Bauman

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Stop by booth #3726 to check out new titles and hear a presentation by Mike McEvoy on his new text, Critical Care Transport.

DATE: Friday, March 5, 2010
TIME: 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

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TIME: 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.

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English golf demands the world's attention, as the finalists in Tucson lead their compatriots in the search of a first major

In the locker rooms of professional golf, or at least those corners where the Englishmen gather, the national fascination with Andy Murray and his quest to win a grand slam tennis tournament is an occasional conversation topic. There is support for the Scot, and also admiration for his athletic abilities. But as much as anything there is bemusement that the efforts of one great tennis player garner so much attention from media and public while the efforts of an entire generation of English golfers appear to pass the country by.

"Fifteen per cent of the field this week is English," Lee Westwood pointed out on the eve of last week's Accenture World Match Play in Tucson, where there were 64 of the world's top-ranked 66 players (Phil Mickelson was on holiday, Tiger Woods elsewhere). "Sometimes people don't appreciate how good English golf is at the minute and it probably doesn't get the credit it deserves in the general sports media. They highlight players in other sports where we have one in the top 100. In golf they get overlooked a bit and I don't think we should."

Westwood's was a good point at the start of last week, and it was an better point on Sunday afternoon, as Ian ­Poulter and Paul Casey stepped on to the first tee to contest the final of the World Match Play event in Arizona. ­Poulter won the 36-hole contest between the two ­Englishman, thereby ­lifting his ranking to No5 in the world, ever closer to the No2 spot that he famously identified as his ambition – "It'll be just me and Tiger" – and for which he was widely ridiculed. (Anyone laughing now?)

Meanwhile, Westwood, winner of last year's Race to Dubai, sits at No4 and Casey, who plays most of his golf in States, is ranked No6. Beneath that triumvirate sit Ross Fisher (ranked 21st), Luke ­Donald (23rd) and Oliver Wilson (38th), while Ross McGowan, who beat the world No2 Steve Stricker in the first round of the matchplay, is ranked 63rd. If British ­tennis were similarly endowed, the Davis Cup might be a permanent fixture in the LTA's trophy room and Andy Murray might not be so encumbered with the entire weight of a nation's expectations.

"I am not really sure," Poulter said on Sunday night when asked to explain why so many English players had made their presence felt on the world stage. "I just think that there's been a lot of great talent in England for such a long time. And it's so nice to see guys actually deliver on the golf course. We've been waiting for a long time."

Poulter himself is the perfect illustration of why it is so difficult to pin down a definitive explanation for the rise of English golf. He came up through the ranks of assistant club professionals, turning pro with a handicap of three and spending his formative years giving lessons to kids and selling Mars Bars in the clubhouse shop.

Wilson, meanwhile, took advantage of the American college system. In the search for talent, college coaches started looking abroad, which is how the Mansfield-born golfer ended up at Augusta State ­University. It helped, too, that Wilson, along with Casey and Luke Donald, were identified early and nurtured by those who run the amateur game in England, not least Peter McEvoy, one of the country's finest ever amateurs and a former Walker Cup captain.

"About 10 to 15 years ago English golf really did get its act together. Believe it or not a lot of blazered people, who are often ridiculed, singled out good young players. People at clubs would tell people at county level 'this boy is good and so it that one'," he says.

As Walker Cup captain, McEvoy began to see a noticeable improvement in the quality of players coming through the ranks. "I really think finding them early and putting them into competitive situations early helped a lot of these guys. For instance, 10 years ago Luke Donald was the best ­amateur golfer in the world and he was beating all-comers. Paul Casey was another great young amateur who did very well. In my experience if you are beating guys from other countries when you are 20, then the chances are that you will still be beating them when you are 35."

There is also something to be said for the influence of the "big five" of European golf in the 1980s, the likes of Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle, who were winning major ­championships when the current generation of players were just starting to take up the game.

Poulter has often cited Faldo as ­mentor and an inspiration, which is ­presumably why in the aftermath of Sunday's ­victory he was happy to celebrate but just as inclined to look ahead. Faldo won six majors during his career; the current ­generation have yet to win one between them, as Poulter himself pointed out. "It's about time the guys that have put ­themselves in positions four, five and six in the world, step up to the plate," he said.

He is right. The question is who will it be? Poulter, it is safe to assume, thinks he knows the answer.

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A CHANGE WILL DO YOU BAD

The Fiver doesn't get on with change, in any sense of the word. Whether it's the searing pain of ripped hair during our yearly undercracker-removal op or the look of such magisterial contempt whenever we shamble towards Posh Restaurant and try to book a table armed only with duffelcoat-pocketfuls of Danish krone. And now they've gone and changed our Big Cup by spreading the last 16 over four separate weeks!

All of that means there are only two games tonight: the geriatricos clash between Milan Over 90s and Manchester United Over 50s, and Lyon v Real Madrid. We hope Sky will continue to employ their full multi-screen format so that viewers who press the red button can watch either match or, on screens three and four, some clueless numpties grunting in a pub and a trousercam that focuses exclusively on the crotch seam of Jamie Redknapp's slacks for 90 minutes to see if it can survive the strain of being the tightest pair of trousers ever worn outside cycling-themed bongo summits.

By the time the return legs of both games are played, in April 2097, both sides will have forgotten who killed Archie Mitchell and what the score is. Speaking of which, scoring has been a problem for United against Milan in San Siro: in four games, all of which they have lost convincingly, they have never busted a net or even bothered one.

With their manager Lord Ferg having a tried-and-tested 9-0-1 away from home in Europe, they will do well to break their duck tonight. Milan, for their part, need planning permission to play more than two consecutive first-time passes, so if either Wes Brown or Rafael can keep Ronaldinho quiet, the Fiver's decision to invest its last 41p on an accumulator of a 0-0 draw, Paul Scholes getting booked for booting David Beckham up in the air and Lord Ferg saying "well done" to his pre-match interviewer for not asking anything resembling a difficult question will look particularly smart. Unlike the idiots who decided that Big Cup should drape itself all over February and March.

Rob Smyth will be bringing you live coverage of tonight's 0-0 thriller between Milan and Manchester United from 7.15pm. Follow it here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"My wife reminded me that in the last round we got a corner against Wolves and it was a goal-kick and we scored the first goal that way" – People who know more about football than Neil Warnock (No6 in a series of 6.8bn): Mrs Warnock.

THE UEFA TRAVELLING CIRCUS BUMBLES INTO TOWN

Uefa may well have totally ruined Big Cup beyond all reason, what with the 27-week round of 16, and the Saturday final, and the preposterous music, and the letting non-champions in which may have happened 13 years ago but don't think we've forgotten you pathetic cultural criminals. But these sorry bureaucrats haven't been resting on their laurels. Because, hello! Look! They've ruined Euro Vase too! It's absolutely jiggered, will you look at the state of it.

Rebranded last summer as Euro Mug - now an earthenware product designed to hold large quantities of piping-hot liquid manure, the name an arch nod to the poor punters across the continent who once had three perfectly serviceable competitions to enjoy - the tournament this week resumes with the Stage of Meh.

This is about the time it used to get good, with English teams excited about their chances of European glory. However thanks to Uefa's constant meddling, insisting on turning the tournament into an ill-designed bloated mess, excitement is low: Liverpool players have been notoriously sniffy about it since being expelled from Big Cup, while Fulham's Roy Hodgson is rumoured to be simply not bothered, as he'd rather stay at home and finish the JP Donleavy novel he's halfway through.

Only Everton have the good grace to sound like they're enjoying it. "It's going to be unbelievable," says Mikel Arteta. "It's a great chance for us and we need to go through." His manager too is oop f'coop. "We have embraced the competition and gone into every game trying to win," says David Moyes. "There have not been any games where we've said we'll save players for the Premier League." And so what do Uefa do? Insist their tie is played at 5.45pm on a Tuesday evening, when fans are still coming home from work, just to avoid a TV clash with a couple of Big Cup games nobody cares about. Well done, Uefa! Well done, clowns!

For coverage of Everton's meeting with Sporting Lisbon (complete with shock 93rd-minute denouement) join Scott Murray from 5.15pm.

FIVER LETTERS

"Oh, it's like that is it? 'Blackburn in Big Cup, anyone?' (yesterday's Fiver). Maybe you should just be best friends with Gary Lineker? Then together you can look down your noses and show Blackburn's game last, every week, on MOTD. At least we have actually won the Premier League and been in Big Cup once, as of right. And that was back in the day, when it was hard (like O-levels)" - Marten Allen.

"How about a NEW radical approach to European competition. Why doesn't the winner of each European domestic league go into a two-leg, unseeded, straight knockout tournament, perhaps called something like the European Cup? Another competition, perhaps named 'For All Incompetent Remaining Sides' Cup (or Fairs for short) could be open to all, but obviously with a limit of one entrant per city. Then the winners of the domestic cup can fight it out in another compeition, called something like the European Cup Winners' Cup" - Bryan English.

"Re: boycotting next month's Manchester United v Liverpool game (Fiver letters passim). Surely fans could stand outside protesting before the match and then disappear to a pub or pre-arranged venue (eg Old Trafford cricket ground) to watch the game. Big swathes of OT empty, no discernable loss of product, and a point made. Alternatively they can continue to moan until the world ends while pouring their money into the pockets of people they hate" - Rob McEvoy.

"Top marks to Carlos Tevez for going to Argentina for the birth of his child (yesterday's Fiver). In the old days, the waiting room or the pub were considered to be sufficiently far enough away from the messy business" - Rob Sheehy.

"Why does Tom Whitstable (yesterday's Fiver letters) feel that David Beckham is the most undervalued English player in the past 15 years? Does he not know that Becks gets £115,000 per week for various endorsements on top of his salary for kicking a pig's bladder around a field? If anything Becks is probably the most overvalued player in the world and we don't need him to retire to work that one out" - Omar Sattar.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also Tweet the Fiver now.

BITS AND BOBS

Arsenal will be without William Gallas, Alex Song [knee-knack], Andrey Arshavin and Eduardo [both hamstring-gah!] for tomorrow's Big Cup tie with Porto. In more positive news, Manuel Almunia will miss out with hand youch!

Rafa Benítez says Liverpool will be taking their Euro Vase campaign seriously now that there is nothing else to live for. "There are still big clubs involved," he said. "If we can get through a couple of rounds, though, I'm sure the atmosphere will be really good because the fans want to see us winning trophies."

Brave John Terry has arrived back in London from Dubai with his wife Toni, following allegations about his private life. "Our relationship has never been knocked down," said the man who has given it a few uppercuts in recent weeks. "We're just so in love."

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard is happy with BJT's replacement as England captain. "The controversy of the changeover and everything is unfortunate," said Lampard. "But now it has changed Rio Ferdinand deserves it and will give it a great crack."

And Portsmouth's former owner Milan Mandaric believes budget review committees could help clubs from falling into financial trouble. "At this point we only talk about administration, which is too late when the patient is dying. It's too late to help him," Mandaric said. "We need to do something before a season starts."

STILL WANT MORE?

Paulo Sousa has made Swansea the Championship's most stylish side, says Louise Taylor as Darren Pratley swans past her in an ermine cape, but they need to find the net more often.

Jonathan Wilson reckons that Guus Hiddink took Russia to a new level but now might just be the right time to leave.

Meanwhile Sandro Modeo thinks that Leonardo is gambling by building Milan in Brazil's utopian image.

Can't wait until tonight for David Beckham's reunion with Manchester United? Then check out our readers' takes on the meeting, featuring Golden Balls as Meryl Streep and Sir Alex Ferguson's pet chihuahua<</span>!>.

Click here to sign up for the Fiver today. And also, heaven forfend, if you want to unsubscribe.

Chakmas, Bangladesh © Mark McEvoy/Survival

Please sign petition

One year since the Bangladesh government promised finally to halt the persecution of the country’s indigenous people, reports are emerging of new abuses.

Decades of conflict between the indigenous people, known as Jummas, and Bengali settlers and armed forces, were supposed to have come to an end with the signing of a ‘Peace Accord’ in 1997. Under the terms of the deal, the army was supposed to close its numerous camps in the mountainous south-east of the country, an area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where the Jummas live.

The army, and the settlers who had colonised the Hill Tracts with their support, had committed countless atrocities in the area, in turn provoking armed resistance from the Jummas.

When a peace deal was signed between the two sides in 1997, hopes were high that the Jummas’ persecution had come to an end. But successive governments failed to honour the terms of the deal, and many Jummas who had fled their homeland to India are yet to get their homes and lands back.

In 2009 the Awami League, the political party which had signed the peace deal, returned to power, and promised finally to fulfil the terms of the Peace Accord. But one year on, little appears to have changed. Many military camps remain open, and the army still dominates in the Hill Tracts, causing widespread intimidation and fear.

In November last year, a soldier from Ghilachari army camp attempted to rape a Jumma woman. Jummas, mostly women, blockaded roads in protest against the assault, demanding the soldier be prosecuted and his army camp disbanded.

Seven people were injured, some seriously, when soldiers tried to break up the protest. Journalists who attempted to interview the injured women in hospital were denied access. Despite written promises by the authorities that the solider would be prosecuted, no action has been taken.

Hundreds of Jumma girls and women have been raped by soldiers and settlers since the 1960s, when the government began a programme of transferring poor Bengalis into the region.

Jumma activist Subir Chakma said, ‘Our girls and women are not safe. They cannot go to schools, they cannot go to the rivers to fetch water or to take baths, they cannot go to their work, they cannot go to the temples, they cannot visit their relatives, they cannot go to the market places, they cannot go to the nearby jungles, they cannot work in the paddy fields, and now they cannot even stay home, they are raped everywhere.’

There have been some signs of progress in the implementation of the accord. An army brigade and some temporary military camps have been withdrawn, and a commission to resolve land disputes has been formed. However, many temporary military camps remain and the continued presence of the military and settlers (who are supported and fed by the army) means the Jummas are still vulnerable to abuse.

Reports of torture, rape, land grabbing and intimidation remain widespread. Many Jummas who fled from earlier violence have still not recovered much of their land.

Jumma groups and their supporters, in Bangladesh and around the world, have worked together to produce a petition calling on the government of Bangladesh to fully implement the 1997 Peace Accord. Please add your name to this plea.

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A Disney-minted star for his role in the "High School Musical" franchise, Zac Efron has all the hallmarks of a teen idol (despite being 22): a silky singing voice, a famous girlfriend (his co-star Vanessa Hudgens) and the constant insinuations of Perez Hilton that he is gay.

"Me and Orson Welles", directed by Richard Linklater, is Efron's first starring role in a film not designated for tweens. Linklater personally chose him for the part, saying he'd "rarely met somebody less conflicted about his ability." Set in the late 1930s, the film spends a week following Richard Samuels (Efron), a young actor, as he assimilates into Orson Welles's production of "Julius Caesar" at the Mercury Theatre. Efron sleepily attends high-school classes by day and rehearsals at night, negotiating the clashing egos of Welles and the other actors, while fielding the playful flirtations of an ambitious colleague (Claire Danes). The film is about the enchantment of theatre and the guilelessness of our hero as he finds himself swept up into Welles's world&mdash;and ejected just as suddenly.

Efron is convincing as the male ing&eacute;nue partly because there is something unexpectedly fey about the young actor's face. He has dark brows, symmetrical features and astonishingly feminine eyes&mdash;an attribute that leads to frequent accusations that he wears mascara on celebrity-gossip sites. He resembles a robot designed by an 11-year-old girl, uncanny in his near-human likeness.

It's not often that a male actor's looks precede his performance (except for the notable exception of Robert Pattinson, everyone's favourite vampire from the "Twilight" series, whose looks constitute his performance.) We generally take our young leading men on the basis of their talents and grant them sexiness as their due&mdash;think James McEvoy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shia Labeouf. But Efron makes this impossible. He could never play an ordinary person. Fittingly, his oeuvre so far has been limited to portraying talented, handsome, fame-seeking young men (in "Orson" as well as in "Hairspray" and "17 Again").

Efron is convincing in Linklater's film, but this is hardly a promise of future success, since the role also happens to be the story of Efron's life. Still, those of us fascinated by the wax-figure oddness of Efron's appearance can hold out hope that he (or an astute director) will take note of this strange quality and harness it for a darker&mdash;or at least a more challenging&mdash;end.

"Me and Orson Welles", in select cinemas in America and Britain

~ MOLLY YOUNG

Call it an addiction, an obsession, or just damn good taste, but we here at Jaunted are on a perpetual search for the perfect cup of joe. Yet, a lauded Bay Area company has half-convinced us to call the search off.

San Francisco's historic Ferry Building, a favorite stop of tourists, locals, and above all, those with fine palates, is home to a Farmer's Market and many a gourmet retailer. It's where you'll find warm loaves of Acme Bread first thing in the morning, Cowgirl Creamery's rich selection of cheeses, and artisanal olive oils by McEvoy Ranch. It's also where you'll find a Blue Bottle Coffee outpost, the famed product of one of the Northern California's expert roasters.

ALICANTE, 3 (EUROPA PRESS)

Los sindicatos de enseñanza Stepv, CCOO y FETE-UGT exigieron hoy "cordura" a la Administración por el expediente disciplinario abierto al director del IES Las Norias de Monforte (Alicante) por mantener la foto del conseller de Educación, Alejandro Font de Mora, boca abajo durante la movilización de la comunidad educativa realizada el curso pasado, según informaron los sindicatos en un comunicado.

Los sindicatos apelaron a la "cordura" de la Administración y, en especial, al director general de Personal Docente, José Antonio Rovira, para que "definitivamente pasen página de este tema y sea sobreseído el expediente" al director del instituto Las Norias, José Luis Santiago.

Para los sindicatos, la propuesta de resolución realizada por el inspector de educación, Daniel McEvoy, "adolece de errores graves", posiblemente "por las deficiencias en el estudio del expediente y el desconocimiento de normativa jurídica de mayor rango que sus discutidas y discutibles consideraciones, así como por las múltiples ocupaciones y deberes a los que tiene que atender" el inspector.

En el documento "no hay enumeración de esas faltas tan flagrantes, ni justificación, ni rigor alguno", según los sindicatos, que lamentaron que no se "está ante un artículo de opinión, sino ante un documento jurídico-administrativo".

Por ello, se preguntaron si el director general "puede resolver algo" ante un escrito "tan falto de rigor" y si "son conscientes los responsables de la administración educativa de la falta de fundamentación jurídica de esta propuesta?".

Lisa Ling was the epitome of cool, laid-back sophistication as she walked the red carpet at the Dizzy Feet Foundation's inaugural Celebration of Dance. I love how she accessorized her long, straightened locks with a fedora for a crisp, city-girl look. To keep that cool factor going, she added a touch of black liquid liner and peach-toned makeup to her eyes and cheeks, wearing a nude lipstick to top it all off. To re-create Lisa's effortless style, simply focus your makeup palette on using shades in the same color family. A sweep of soft, shimmery light peach shadow in the inner corners and lids, a warm peachy-brown shade on the crease, and a pop of peach blush will give you a fresh, pulled-together look with minimal effort.

Prescriptives Colorscope Lipcolor - $17.50	Vincent Longo Day Play Duo Compact Blush, Misty Blossom - $35.00
Shiseido the makeup silky eye shadow duo - $28.50	Brown Tweed Fedora - $12.90
Straw Fedora Hat - $34.50	Victor Osborne Toyo Miles Hat - $338.00
Bop Basics - $65.00	Mac liquid eye liner - $16.50
bareMinerals Brown Eyecolor Eye Shadow, Java - $13.00	Trish McEvoy Eye Shadow - $16.00
Estee lauder signature eyeshadow quad - $35.00	Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick - $10.99
CoverGirl Cheekers Blush - $4.47	TheBalm Hot Mama - $19.00

Don't miss the rare opportunity to drop in at the sprawling 550-acre McEvoy Ranch this harvest (and holiday) season. Olive oil enthusiasts will clamour at the chance to bring their home-grown olives to the ranch this Sunday, Dec. 6 for a Community Milling Day and Open House.

Home to 18,000 olive trees representing Tuscan varietals of Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, Maurino, Leccio del Corno, and Coratina, McEvoy is a private residence, so visits are typically available only during scheduled tours. The Milling Day will run from 9am to noon at the Petaluma ranch (5935 Red Hill Rd.) and cost $1 per pound of olives.

At the Open House, a separate event on the same day lasting from 11am to 5pm, guests will enjoy music, light refreshments, McEvoy’s newly-milled Olio Nuovo olive oil and other estate-produced items, a peek at our olive mill in action and holiday shopping in McEvoy’s charming retail room. The Open House is free of charge, but reservations are required. Register for both events on the McEvoy Ranch website.

After a few months off the $1 million Turbo Takedown is back and bigger than ever. As you may have read earlier in the week from Otis first prize tonight for one of the 21,423 runners is not only $60,000.00 but this shiny brand new Audi TT RS (I'll repost the picture because that's one hot car and like Otis I'll need a ride to the airport as well that same day and hope you don't mind driving in snow).

In addition to the added prize to the pool there are some extra goodies also thrown into the pot. For instance, if you cash in consecutive Turbo Takedowns, the next month you will receive $100 in bonus money (with a set amount of VPPs necessary to clear). Each month you cash, the amount goes up by $100 all the way up to $1,000. Free money on top of free money especially since you cannot buy your way into the Turbo Takedown to begin with. The lowered 3,000 FPPs buy-in can be obtained either by grinding out those SnGs, MTTs, and cash games or with the multitude of satellites being played at all hours.

If that wasn't enough free cash, consider the bounties on the Team PokerStars Pros listed below that paid out $100 a piece for their elimination (shown with place of finish below):

Andre Akkari 19,912nd
Angel Guillen 7,849th
Dennis Phillips 4,376th
Emad Tahtouh 6,159th
George Danzer 1,974th
Marcin "Goral" Horecki 14,199th
Henrique Pinho 7,627th
Jan Heitmann 19,799th
Jason Mercier 14,186th
John Duthie 14,779th
Johnny Lodden 17,139th
Juan Maceiras 16,020th
Katja Thater 19,938th
Alexander Kravchenko 7,472nd
Lee Nelson 15,615th
Leo Fernandez 798th
Luis Medina 15,785th
Marcel Luske 17,739th
Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck 11,136th
Chris "Money800" Moneymaker 11,050th
Jose "nachobarbero" Ignacio 17,881st
Nuno Coelho 12,166th
Pieter De Korver 6,509th
Veronica "princesa" Dabul 15,461st
Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan 14,502nd
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 3,345th
Tom McEvoy 9,655th
Vicky Coren 9,112nd
Victor Ramdin 18,594th
Vlad Zguba 6,265th
William Thorson 293rd
Ylon Schwartz 2,826th

Yes, that's a long list of pros that dished out $100 a piece to those skillful/lucky enough to bust them but one Team PokerStars pro still remained in the running with just two tables left. Alexandre "allingomes" Gomes stood in 13th place out of 16 left as the tournament took a break before the eighth hour of play. With blinds sitting at 80K/160K ante 16K immediately after returning, the aggressive Gomes got caught on a steal after open pushing 2.4 million from middle position with [Th][Jc] and UGA_FELON woke up with pocket jacks [Jh][Js] on the button and made the call. By the turn the board read [3s] [Ac] [9d] [8c] giving Gomes an open ended straight draw, but the river [As] failed to fill the straight as the Team PokerStars Pro exited in 16th place ($4,000.00) and UGA_FELON took in the last $100 pro bounty of the tourney.

Dag Martin "dmmikkel" Mikkelsen's stack roller-coaster ride near the bubble came to the end after open-shoving for 3.7 million chips with [5h][Ac] and found a caller in dynoalot wh

Make no mistake about it folks, Thursday night's Texas - Texas A&amp;M game was a Texas-style shoot-out complete with drama, fat women in the stands, and noise.

But while Texas A&amp;M will feel once again disheartened by losing to Texas, Texas will also be disheartened.

Because while that sort of defensive performance can work against the Big XII—including Big XII North opponents Nebraska on Saturday week (are we being a little unfair), it won't wash against Florida or Alabama.

The Longhorns couldn't stop the throw all night. Think Blake Gideon &amp; Co are going to deal with Riley Cooper better he did with the Aggies?

They weren't great against the run either. Early on, it looked as though the Aggies would get roasted on the line of scrimmage. The 'horns were awesome. But as is the case in college football, the game rolled on, and the "D" tired.

By the end of the game Christine Michael—we only wish we were joking about his first name, but seriously—he's called Christine (parents wanted a boy apparently), had 83 yards to his name, and the runs were getting bigger each time. They also had trouble stopping Aggies' QB Jerrod Johnson, too. While Texas will have fun against Greg McEvoy, think Tebow won't barge them out of the way?

On the good side...Colt McCoy was a star for the Longhorns, and he's playing the best 'ball of his career...Jordan Shipley will be a thorn in anyone's side for the last two games of his college career (he's not coming back for a seventh year is he? IS he?)...kickers against Texas will have to "pick their poison" against Jordan Shipley or Marquise Goodwin, who can both fly.

Look, we know it was a rivalry game. But rivalry games probably come second to National Championships in terms of games everyone will talk about when careers are done and dusted.

No-one wants to be known as the team who went unbeaten during the regular season and then got smacked about during the National Championship Game.

Thursday night's Texas-Texas A&amp;M game was a Texas-style shoot-out, complete with drama, fat women in the stands, and noise.

But while Texas A&amp;M will feel once again disheartened by losing to Texas, Texas will also be disheartened.

Make no mistake about it, folks, that sort of defensive performance can work against lousy Big XII teams—and there were a number UT has faced this season (we won't talk about the laughable non-conference schedule)—but it won't wash against the Longhorns' likely Rose Bowl opponents, Florida or Alabama.

The Longhorns couldn't stop the throw all night. Think Blake Gideon &amp; Co are going to deal with Riley Cooper better he did with the Aggies? Or think they'll cope against Julius Jones?

They weren't great against the run either. Early on, it looked as though the Aggies would get roasted on the line of scrimmage. The 'Horns were awesome. But as is the case in college football, the game rolled on, and the D tired.

By the end of the game, Christine Michael (we only wish we were joking about his first name, but seriously—he's called Christine. Parents wanted a girl apparently), had 83 yards to his name, and the runs were getting bigger each time. They also had trouble stopping Aggies QB Jerrod Johnson, too. While Texas will have fun against Greg McEvoy, think Tebow won't barge them out of the way?

On the good side: Colt McCoy was a star for the Longhorns, and he's playing the best 'ball of his career. Jordan Shipley will be a thorn in anyone's side for the last two games of his college career (he's not coming back for a seventh year is he? IS he?). Kickers against Texas will have to "pick their poison" against Jordan Shipley or Marquise Goodwin, who can both fly.

Look, we know it was a rivalry game.

But rivalry games probably come second to National Championships in terms of games everyone will talk about when careers are done and dusted. No-one wants to be known as the team who went unbeaten during the regular season and then got smacked about during the National Championship Game.

Here's a bit of "Midnight Yell" for y'all. Ignore the first 47 seconds of introduction...