ASSOCIATED PRESS: Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has cast himself as the outsider, the pizza magnate with real-world experience who will bring fresh ideas to the nation’s capital. But Cain’s economic ideas, support and organization have close ties to two billionaire brothers who bankroll right-leaning causes through their group Americans for Prosperity. Cain’s campaign manager and a number of aides have worked for Americans for Prosperity, or AFP, the advocacy group founded with support from billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, which lobbies for lower taxes and less government regulation and spending. Cain credits a businessman who served on an […]
N. LAWRENCE MIDNIGHT SINGERS: Last Great Sat. Night
Dir. by Scott Colan
DEENEY: Abusing The Disabled For Fun And Profit
DAILY BEAST: A shocking discovery on a weathered but quiet stretch of Longshore Avenue in the working-class Tacony neighborhood shook Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon: four cognitively impaired disabled adults were found malnourished, chained to a water heater, and locked behind a steel door in a filthy 15-by-15-foot closet in the basement of an apartment complex. The details of the story are still taking shape. The four adults and their “caretakers”—charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and various other crimes—arrived in the city by way of Florida just a few weeks ago, but lived in Texas prior to that. What brought them […]
#OCCUPY CITIZENS UNITED: Dr. Cornel West Arrested On The Steps Of The Supreme Court
CBS NEWS: Author, commentator, civil rights activist and Princeton University professor Cornel West has been arrested while protesting on the steps of the Supreme Court about corporate influence in politics. A Supreme Court spokeswoman says 19 people were arrested Sunday afternoon after they refused to leave the grounds of the court. MORE RELATED: The rallies started last month in New York’s financial district, where people have been staying in lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. They widened to 1500 cities today, including Sydney and Toronto, the organisers said, in a “global day of action against Wall Street greed”. MORE RELATED: The global […]
EARLY WORD: Motopony Ride
BY TONY ABRAHAM Seattle based hard-soul/glitch-folk indie-rockers Motopony, led by former fashion designer Daniel Blue and joined by Buddy Ross and friends play Johnny Brendas tomorrow night (SUN. OCT. 16TH), promoting their debut self-eponymous album at Johnny Brenda’s. Phawker talked to Daniel (while the band was in the back of a van en route to Canada) about Motopony, music, the tour, Daniel’s artistic history, and the band’s explosion since the album was re-released last May. PHAWKER: So before Motopony, you were a fashion designer with your own label. What sparked your transition to music? DANIEL BLUE: In a lot of […]
SH*T MY UNCLE SAYS: The Elizabethan Age
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY I’ve got two words for Occupy Wall Street (and Occupy Everywhere Else for that matter): ELECT ELIZABETH! As in Elizabeth Warren for those few (hopefully) of you who may not already be aware of who she is and what she represents. Looking for a purpose, someone or something to rally around, some kind of game-changing action to take? Here’s a suggestion: Get out of the parks and start hitting the bricks to help Elizabeth Warren Occupy a U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts! And, when you’re finished with that, spend the next four years making it possible for her to […]
EARLY WORD: Party Like It’s 1969
THE OCCUPATION PARTY: This Saturday at 5pm we take Times Square with music, performance and a message that the people of this country – not the banks, not the corporations – hold the true power. It’s a rare moment that a grass roots protest movement takes over the national conversation. From the Occupation of Wall St., a thrilling national movement has emerged. This Saturday, October 15th, hundreds of cities across the country will host demonstrations in support of the #Occupy movement. In New York City, dozens of community groups, unions, student organizations and lots and lots of regular folk are […]
HACKTIVISM: The Revolution Will Be Digitized
THE NATION: Hackers come in many forms, from criminals stealing credit card details to shadowy government organizations attacking enemy nuclear facilities; but today the most prominent and controversial are cyberactivists—or “hacktivists,” as Davis is alleged to be. Loosely affiliated and rapidly expanding, these groups have thousands of members all over the world and names like AntiSec (which stands for “anti-security”) and, most famously, Anonymous. These groups represent a new front in what has been labeled the “global information war”: the growing battle over who controls information in cyberspace. Operating anonymously, mainly via Internet relay chat (IRC) channels, hacktivist groups crash […]
#OCCUPATION: Bloomberg Blinks, Backs Off Eviction
WASHINGTON POST: Despite city officials announcing a planned cleanup of Zuccotti Park had been canceled, some violence bubbled up in lower Manhattan on Friday morning. After the private owners granted the protesters reprieve from an order to leave the park, some protesters chose to march through the streets in celebration. Police asked protesters to stay on the sidewalk, but when they didn’t, a v-formation of police scooters drove through the crowd, running over one National Lawyers Guild observer. CBS Local News station reports that violence broke out after the man went down. Police told CBS that the reaction was prompted by […]
JAZZER: Jeannie Brooks
BY ZIVIT SHLANK JAZZ CORRESPONDENT Vocalist Jeannie Brooks may be the best kept musical secret in Philadelphia. She’s been quietly on the scene singing for almost 30 years. However what pours forth from her voice is anything but; Jeannie’s exultant style exudes a fiery purity that is inspiring. It certainly doesn’t hurt that she also possesses a charming personality and a story full of surprises. A true lover of music, she has no particular allegiances. From jazz to soul to rock and roll, she is truly a complete musician. See for yourself when she and her Quartet perform tonight at […]
SIDEWALKING: Same Lie, Different War
Independence Mall, 10:05 AM by JONATHAN VALANIA
EARLY WORD: Bastards Of The Young
Take a look at the cover art for Divine Providence, Deer Tick’s fourth album in five years. What the hell is going on you ask? Don’t think too much about it. What you see is what you get — there aren’t a whole lot of deep thoughts behind it. Hey, if that’s the way frontman John McCauley sees it, isn’t that the way you should see it, too? It’s merely a collection of cut-and-paste images that ‘just looks kinda cool.’ It grabs your attention, like good album art should. Keep that same mindset when you listen to the record. Don’t think […]
SH*T MY UNCLE SAYS: Mission Accomplished
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY If you’re tired of reading rants (mine included) decrying our shameful experiments in nation building and capitalism cloning perhaps better known as Iraq and Afghanistan, you might want to exit now. I’ve raged on the subject(s) so many times I really can’t recall just how often it’s been. One thing I can promise those of you who persevere is that I’ll never stop doing so as long as I have the mental and physical capacity to speak, hold a pen, or pound a key pad. The issue is just too important. Brave American men and women are […]