INQUIRER: On June 23, workers at the Philadelphia Park Systems at 15th and Arch Streets discovered a piece of art that had long hung on an office wall “was no longer there,” said Jerri Williams, an FBI spokeswoman. Though other art was on display, only the Water Works had gone missing. The Mona Lisa it ain’t. Politely, it could be described as a picturesque view of a group of colonaded buildings on a river. Some might discount it as a dull architectural rendering. Painted in 1842 by John A. Woodside, the canvas shows the famed Water Works before the construction […]
WORTH REPEATING: Fear & Loathing In Minneapolis
BY DAVID CARR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES Where does a junkie’s time go? Mostly in 15-minute increments, like a bug-eyed Tarzan, swinging from hit to hit. For months on end in 1988, I sat inside a house in north Minneapolis, doing coke and listening to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and finding my own pathetic resonance in the lyrics. “Any place is better,” she sang. “Starting from zero, got nothing to lose.” After shooting or smoking a large dose, there would be the tweaking and a vigil at the front window, pulling up the corner of the blinds to look […]
HOT DOC: Ad Demands End To Spying On Americans
This ran full-page in today’s New York Times. We are proud signatories. Are you? RELATED: The American Civil Liberties Union filed a landmark lawsuit today to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans’ international e-mails and telephone calls. The case was filed on behalf of a broad coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations whose ability to perform their work — which relies on confidential communications — will be greatly compromised by the new law. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, […]
ELLIOTT SMITH: Pitseleh
[Dir. by JAMES DOOLITTLE] WIKIPEDIA: Omar Ahmed Khadr (??? ???? ???, born September 19, 1986) is the fourth child in the Canadian Khadr family. He was captured by American forces at the age of 15 following a four-hour firefight with militants in the village of Ayub Kheyl, Afghanistan.[1] He has spent six years in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps charged with war crimes and providing support to terrorism after allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier.[2] A Canadian citizen born in Toronto,[3][4] he is the youngest prisoner held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp by the United States […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Rhett Miller ought to be a household name by now: With model-esque good looks, considerable stage presence, and an arsenal of catchy pop songs, the charismatic frontman for alt-country favorite Old 97’s doesn’t want for raw materials. Alt-country favorites the Old 97’s are as reliable as a worn pair of cowboy boots and an old flannel shirt. The band has been playing for 15 years now, and they just released the album Blame It On Gravity. Miller takes a break from their summer tour to talk about the group’s new album and the band’s career. Miller also performs […]
DAILY DOS: Last Night’s Colbert Report
Last night’s Daily Show With Jon Stewart, in its entirety, after the jump. Enjoy.
BREAKING: Feds Raid Wachovia
WALL STREET JOURNAL: The race is heating up among regulators and prosecutors to show the public that they’re sorting out the auction rate securities mess. Here’s the breaking news, courtesy of WSJ’s Liz Rappaport: A team of 10 state securities regulators drove to the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities yesterday to demand documents and conduct interviews about the firm’s sales and marketing of ARS. The “onsite inspection” occurred after Wachovia hadn’t fully complied with regulator requests, Missouri regulator officials said. The state investigators came from Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states, all of which are part of […]
EARLY WORD: Walking The Dog In Rittenhouse Square
Hey Jonathan, How are you? I want to let you know Philly natives, Dr. Dog, will be playing a free show in Rittenhouse Square on August 13th, in support of their new studio album, Fate. Set for a July 22nd release, Fate is the follow up to the band¹s critically acclaimed album We All Belong, which critics and fans alike hailed as one of the best albums of 2007.
GAYDAR: To Be Young And Gay In Philadelphia
BY AARON STELLA Welcome one and all to the brand spanking new Phawker gay column called … drumroll, please … GAYDAR. My name is Aaron Stella, at your service, and I am proud to succeed Miss Tommy Zane — whose honesty and sharp wit made us laugh and invited us to share in his vision of the gay life in our fair city. I’m a bit younger than Zane — only 22, part of the troupe he might call “you young things” — but I’ve got plenty to say, and there’s never a time I haven’t got a hurricane brewing […]
LAWYER: Spitzer Girl Stole I.D. For Gone Wild Debut
INQUIRER: Ashley Dupre, arguably the world’s most famous call girl, is being sued by a North Jersey woman who claims Dupre stole her identity. Dupre’s sexual liasons with Gov. Eliot Spitzer were made public in March and brought down the powerful New York lawmaker. After the scandal broke, the producers of the Girls Gone Wild videos scoured their vaults, found explicit footage of Dupre, and released the film. In the widely distributed video, Dupre identifies herself as “Amber Arpaio.” The camera zooms in on a New Jersey drivers license with Arpaio’s name and picture on it. Arpaio, 26, who works […]
POLL: Tale Of Two Americas
NEW YORK TIMES/CBS NEWS POLL: After years of growing political polarization, much of the divide in American politics is partisan. But Americans’ perceptions of the fall presidential election between Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also underlined the racial discord that the poll found. More than 80 percent of black voters said they had a favorable opinion of Mr. Obama; about 30 percent of white voters said they had a favorable opinion of him. Nearly 60 percent of black respondents said race relations were generally bad, compared with 34 percent of whites. Four in […]
ONLY IN THE TOWN WHERE THEY BOOED SANTA CLAUS: Jeering Protesters Brand Dalai Lama A ‘Liar’
COMMUNIST PARTY STOOGES?: Protesters at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Sunday THE POPULIST: The Dalai Lama is in town today, and appeared at the Kimmel Center during the lunch hour. Instead of an oasis of calm and spiritual awakening, the pavement outside was the scene of rage and tears. Vocal protesters, cordoned off by the police to the south of the Center, held placards reading “the Dalai Lama is lying.” One man held a bullhorn and led the group of 40 in jeers. The group consisted mostly of Caucasians, including women with short-cropped hair dressed in saffron-and-crimson monk-like garb, Chinese and Chinese-Americans. […]
WHY WE FIGHT: Chinese Democracy
[Photo via DAILY MAIL] REUTERS: Construction over the next two decades will be unprecedented as the number of city dwellers rises by over 350 million — more than the U.S. population — to 926 million in 2025 from 572 million in 2005. By 2025, China will have 221 cities with more than 1 million people, compared with 35 in Europe today. China will need to build between 20,000 and 50,000 new skyscrapers — the equivalent of up to 10 New York Cities. TED KOPPEL: China’s streets have gone from being jammed with bicycles to being jammed with cars. The nation […]