FRESH AIR In his new book, The Devil We Know, former CIA operative Robert Baer argues that Iran is an up-and-coming — and often misunderstood — superpower, with strong influences throughout the Middle East. “The sooner we understand the Iranian paradox — who they are, what they want, how they want to both humble us and work with us — the sooner we’ll understand how to come to terms with the new Iranian superpower,” writes Baer. Baer’s previous book, See No Evil, was the basis for the George Clooney film Syriana. RADIO TIMES Hour 1 What’s your favorite song? Album? […]
PAPERBOY: Special ‘Men Behaving Badly’ Edition
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
ARTSY: Pretty On The Inside
Explanation after the jump…
SAGE FRANCIS: Conspiracy To Riot
SAGE FRANCIS: On Sept 1, 2008 I received a voicemail informing me that my longtime friend, Jared Paul, was sitting in a Minnesota jail cell. This was the first day of the National Republican Convention, a 5 day event that Jared was covering for a Providence publication. I thought to myself “Well…that was quick.” Jared Paul is currently in a legal battle with the St. Paul, MN court system, along with hundreds of others who face trumped up charges thanks to the overzealous riot police at the Republican National Convention. Jared is one of many who does not have the […]
N.E.R.D.: Everybody Nose
N.E.R.D. plays the Electric Factory tonight with Common.
CHARGE IT: Senate Passes 700 Bazillion Dollar Bailout
NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The Senate strongly endorsed the $700 billion economic bailout plan Wednesday, leaving backers optimistic that the easy approval, coupled with an array of popular additions, would lead to House acceptance by Friday and end the legislative uncertainty that has rocked the markets. In stark contrast to the House rejection of the plan on Monday, a bipartisan coalition of senators — including both presidential candidates — showed no hesitation in backing a proposal that had drawn public scorn, though the outpouring eased somewhat after a market plunge followed the House defeat. The Senate margin was 74 […]
EARLY WORD: The Man Comes Around
[Photo by JEFF FUSCO] ***MEDIA ADVISORY*** For Immediate Release Wednesday, October 1, 2008 FRIDAY: Barack Obama Returns to Montgomery County Sen. Obama to speak at Abington High School PHILADELPHIA – Sen. Barack Obama will visit the Philadelphia suburbs Friday for a community gathering in Abington. The trip comes one day after the Vice Presidential debate and just four days before Pennsylvania’s voter registration deadline. Senator Obama will outline his plans to stand up for middle-class families and make Washington and Wall Street work for Main Street again. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required […]
HOT DOC: This Is What Voter Intimidation Looks Like
PHILLY CLOUT: With just weeks to go before the presidential election, voter intimidation has reared it’s ugly head here in Philly. An anonymous flier is circulating in parts of North and West Philadelphia, which says that if you have outstanding warrants or traffic tickets, then police will arrest you at your polling place on election day. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison says he learned of the flier last week. He stressed that the message is completely false. “The only thing that police officers are going to do that we’ll be encouraging that day is that they’ll be exercising […]
QUINNIPIAC POLL: A Change Is Gonna Come
QUINNIPIAC POLL: No one has been elected President since 1960 without taking two of these three largest swing states in the Electoral College. Results from the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University polls conducted before and after the debate show: * Florida: Obama up 49 – 43 percent pre-debate and 51 – 43 percent post-debate; * Ohio: Obama up 49 – 42 percent pre-debate and 50 – 42 percent post-debate; * Pennsylvania: Obama ahead 49 – 43 percent pre-debate and 54 – 39 percent post-debate. Pre-debate surveys ended at 8 p.m. Friday with post-debate surveys Saturday-Monday. More than 84 percent of […]
PALINTOLOGY: I Has Supreem Kort?
WASHINGTON POST: After a lengthy, smiling pause, Sarah Palin could not name a Supreme Court decision she disagrees with, beyond Roe v. Wade, in an interview that aired tonight on CBS. The Alaska governor had just finished explaining that abortion should be decided by individual states when CBS anchor Katie Couric asked, “What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?” “Well, let’s see,” Palin said, stalling for time. “There’s, of course — in the great history of America rulings, there have been rulings, that’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, […]
HEAR YE: Bob Dylan Tell Tale Signs
NPR: Widely regarded as America’s greatest living songwriter, Bob Dylan has written and recorded some of the most influential and acclaimed music of the past century. With countless studio albums, compilations and live discs to his name in his nearly 50-year career, Dylan continues to produce new music that’s as vital as his earliest recordings, and still performs more than 100 concerts every year in what’s been called the “never-ending tour.” For the legions of fans who still can’t get enough, Dylan’s longtime label (Columbia Records) has been releasing a series of “bootleg” CDs from the singer — a vast […]
NEWS CLUES: Like An Internet Sex Tape Of The Truth
HATERADE: Michael Cera Backlash Begins Pointless Quest For Consensus Apparently no one is immune to the backlash that success brings. Not even Michael Cera! America’s ubiquitous and awkward sweetheart appears to be on the precipice of the inevitable take down. Mr. Cera, who stars in this Friday’s Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, was profiled in the New York Times on Sunday, prompting prickly Hollywood Elsewhere blogger Jeffrey Wells to state that Mr. Cera is “on the brink” and “two or three steps from being over.” We can’t say we expect mannered reasoning from Mr. Wells, who is prone to over-reactions and brash […]
PALINDROME: The Naked Truth
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Bruce Elliott, whose wife owns the Old Town Ale House, painted this nude portrait of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. He said his daughter, who does a good impression of the Alaska governor, served as model. (Kuni Takahashi, Chicago Tribune / September 29, 2008) MORE FLICKR: The Full Monty SALON: Is this the week that Democrats and Republicans join hands — to heap pity on poor Sarah Palin? At the moment, all signs point to yes, as some strange bedfellows reveal that they have been feeling sorry for the vice-presidential candidate ever since she stopped speaking without […]