DAILY MAIL: A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave — although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet. The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate. MORE RELATED: Looking at the still photos and the videos, the stills are obviously time lapse exposures. The spiral […]
SEX IN THE CITY: Men I Have Dated
BY GLORIA MARIS One evening after I’d put my daughter to bed, I was dumped by phone. When the call came in, I recognized the name on the phone’s display, and after I’d answered with my usual cheery greeting, I heard: “Well, I’m calling because I’m breaking up with you.” It was an interesting phrase from someone who’d never called me his girlfriend to begin with. I’d been warned that he was a serial dater and a commitment-phobe. He’s lived in the same bachelor pad for over a decade and, though he’s had steady, highly remunerative employment since he finished […]
ARMBINDER: An Annotated Takedown Of The Denialist Drivel That Is Sarah Palin’s WaPo Op-Ed
THE ATLANTIC: Once again, the Washington Post has given Sarah Palin the chance to harness herself to the political story of the hour. The former Alaska governor has written an op-ed, published Wednesday, about the “Climate-gate” controversy at East Anglia University. Palin calls on President Obama to boycott the Copenhagen climate summit because the leaked e-mails allegedly cast significant doubt on the scientific consensus about global warming. With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point. By “radical,” Palin means the overwhelming scientific consensus; virtually every […]
Public Option In Critical Condition After Car Crash
PHAWKER: Last night the Public Option crashed its car into a tree and a fire hydrant at the end of its driveway. Reportedly the Public Option was being chased by his wife wielding a golf club, enraged by the Public Option’s extramarital affairs. At last count, 59 U. S. Senators have come forward to say they have been having an affair with the Public Option. So far, the Public Option’s sponsors all say they will continue to offer their unconditional support to the Public Option and his family — of 120 million Americans it would have covered — during this […]
REMI GALLIARD: Goes Batty
Funny how much mayhem a grown man in a bat costume can cause. [h/t to Fiorious Films]
HITCHENS: Guilt By Association Cuts Both Ways
SLATE: The person who has been introducing Palin into the more exalted social and political circles of the capital, and who has already arranged her appearance at the Alfalfa Club, is Fred Malek. Two things about Malek are worth bearing in mind.The first is that he was an important member of the Nixon administration, a senior figure on the Republican National Committee, and the campaign manager for the re-election of George H.W. Bush in 1992. With his Carlyle Group and other corporate connections and his mansion in suburban McLean, Va.,* Malek is almost the prototypical “establishment” Washington insider and consiglieri […]
Kensington Prostitution Sting Nabs 76 Unfuckables
INQUIRER: Police have wrapped up a prostitution sting in Kensington, authorities announced today, an operation aimed at finding the man or men responsible for the brutal rapes and beatings of four women in recent months. Though police have not found the men accused in those particular assaults, they arrested 102 people over the course of the 12-day operation, most of whom were charged with solicitation. Female undercover officers posed as prostitutes around Kensington Avenue, where the victims were picked up before they were attacked, and arrested 76 men who offered money or drugs for sex. Some of the arrested men […]
ARTSY: Tim Burton At The MOMA
NEW YORK TIMES: Given the tremendous visual appeal of Mr. Burton’s movies, you would hope that “Tim Burton,” the Museum of Modern Art’s expansive retrospective of his noncinematic art, would be equally exciting. Alas, it is a letdown. Focused mainly on hundreds of drawings dating from his teenage years to the present and including paintings, sculptures, photographs and a smattering of short films on flat screens, it is an entertaining show and a must for film buffs and Burton fans. To see the raw material from which the movies evolved is certainly illuminating. But there is a sameness to all […]
TOUGH NUT TO CRACK: Harshbarger Report Clears ACORN Of Illegality In ‘Pimp & Hooker’ Gotcha Videos
SEIU: Today, former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger released his report on the Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN) following an independent and aggressive review of the organization. Mr. Harshbarger deserves thanks for not only having the ability to see past the sensationalized headlines, but for recognizing and reporting on the steps that ACORN had already taken to address management weaknesses it had identified earlier. It is striking that despite the news coverage, Mr. Harshbarger found no pattern of illegal conduct by the staff of ACORN targeted in the ‘sting’ operation, even in cases that looked clear cut from […]
END RUN: White House Threatens To Bypass Congress and Make Global Warming The EPA’s Bitch
WASHINGTON POST: The Obama administration moved closer Monday to issuing regulations on greenhouse gases, a step that would enable it to limit emissions across the economy even if Congress does not pass climate legislation. The move, which coincided with the first day of the international climate summit in Copenhagen, seemed timed to reassure delegates there that the United States is committed to reducing its emissions even if domestic legislation remains bogged down. But it provoked condemnation from key Republicans and from U.S. business groups, which vowed to tie up any regulations in litigation. In Monday’s much-anticipated announcement, the Environmental Protection […]
Ex-Khyber Barkeep Charged in Mumbai Attacks
GUARDIAN: Federal prosecutors accused David Coleman Headley, 49, who lives in Chicago, of conspiracy to bomb public places in India, to murder and maim people, and to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group. The charges come after Headley, also known as Daood Gilani, was accused of involvement in a plot to kill the editor of the Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, who published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in 2005 which provoked an angry backlash in the Muslim world. Headley is accused of scouting the three locations in Mumbai – the luxury Taj hotel, a railway station and the Jewish […]
Asian Students Boycott School Over Ethnic Violence
INQUIRER: According to students, fights between African American and Asian students started this week on the streets and spilled over Thursday into the 900-student building on South Broad Street. Ten students were suspended, and criminal charges are being investigated, according to reports. The breakdown of school enrollment is 70 percent African American, 18 percent Asian, about 6 percent white, and 5 percent Latino. MORE WHYY: South Philadelphia High School senior Duong Ly says some African American students just don’t like Asian kids. Ly says he was punched and pushed within a month of enrolling in the school two years ago. […]
Weezer Cancels Philly Date After Tour Bus Crash
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: “The bus contained Rivers, his wife and daughter, their nanny, and Rivers’ assistant Sarah,” writes Koch. “Both Sarah and Rivers’ wife were pitched out of their upper level bunks onto the floor 5 feet below. Somehow Rivers’ wife was uninjured, but Sarah sustained 2 fractured ribs and a fractured lower vertebrae. The baby daughter was in her crib unit and was fine, as was the nanny who was sleeping near the floor in her bunk at the time. However in the back lounge, Rivers was tossed around violently, waking up as he landed back on his mattress.” Koch […]