ASSOCIATED PRESS: The vice president’s visit to Oman, part of a 10-day trip to the Mideast, fueled speculation that the United States was ratcheting up military pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. As a quiet U.S. military ally, Oman allows the United States to use four air bases — including one just 50 miles from Iran — for refueling, logistics and storage of pre-positioned military supplies. Cheney denied that he’d stepped up his opposition to Iran’s nuclear policy. “I’ve been pretty consistent over time about Iran,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ratcheted up the rhetoric. I felt strongly […]
MEDIA: Kia Gregory Is Movin’ On Up!
INQUIRER: We’re very pleased to announce that Kia Gregory, a columnist and reporter for the Philadelphia Weekly, will be joining The Inquirer as a City Desk reporter on April 4. Kia grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Dobbins Vocational Technical High School, at 22nd and Lehigh, and worked for seven years as an accountant before the journalism addiction got her as a night student at Temple University. There, Kia’s gift for writing and her dedication to the craft became immediately apparent to all who came in contact with her. One of her professors, our own Howie Shapiro, remembers giving Kia […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
RADIO TIMES w/ MARTY MOSS-COANE Hour 1 The Iraq War five-years later. Part One. We’ll start our conversation with FEISAL ISTRABADI who served as Iraq’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations from 2004-2007. We’ll talk to him about whether Iraqi leaders are making political progress needed to stabilize the country. Then CONRAD CRANE who co-authored the latest counter-insurgency manual for the U.S. military about how long we can sustain the current troop levels, and PAUL HUGHES who worked with the Coalition Provisional Authority right after the invasion on reconstruction programs. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 […]
TODAY I SAW: The Tao Of BB
[Photo by JUSTIN ROMAN] BY JEFF DEENEY On the corner of 57th and Arch, there’s a stuffed Tweety bird lashed to a tree. Large, black letters, “RIP BB,” are written in marker across the the bird’s oversized yellow forehead. Across the street is a dumpy Chinese takeout joint with a crew of corner boys posted up in front of it. It’s a warm, sunny late winter day and there’s a lot of foot traffic on the block. When the camera comes out and we start to shoot the curbside memorial the corner boys point at us, waving to each other […]
THE EARLY WORD: A Ghost Is Born
Details after the jump…
ZOGBY POLL: The Clintons Have Successfully Damaged The Obama Candidacy & Given John McCain The Lead
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat Barack Obama‘s big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the U.S. presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 percent to 44 percent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.Illinois Sen. Obama, who would be America’s first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Sen. Clinton over his […]
iRAQ: Pissing In The Wind
This is really funny as far as wartime potty humor goes. And, of course, as wartime potty humor goes, so goes the nation. Or something like that.
NEWS CLUES: ‘So Local It Hurts’ Edition
WANTED: 1,000 Cheese Steak-Chomping Fat Guys To Say Dumb Shit On Camera Stephen Colbert is headed back out on the campaign trail. No, he assured viewers of “The Colbert Report” last night, he is not reviving his presidential campaign. That was snuffed out last fall when Democratic officials in South Carolina voted him off the state’s primary ballot (and just before the television writers went on strike). Mr. Colbert said he is going to Philadelphia to report on the Pennsylvania primary for a few days in mid-April before the April 22 vote. He’ll be broadcasting his nightly comedy show from […]
WORTH REPEATING: Reactions To Senator Barack Obama’s Landmark ‘A More Perfect Union’ Speech
[Photos by TIFFANY YOON/CLICK TO ENLARGE] [via HUFFINGTON POST] Mother Jones, David Corn: With racial sentiments swirling in the 2008 campaign — notably, Geraldine Ferraro’s claim that Barack Obama is not much more than an affirmative action case and the controversy over his former pastor’s over-the-top remarks — Senator Obama on Tuesday morning responded to these recent fusses with a speech unlike any delivered by a major political figure in modern American history. While explaining — not excusing — Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s remarks (which Obama had already criticized), he called on all Americans to recognize that even though the United […]
ARTSY: The Lost Photos Of Diane Arbus
First Person Arts presents Now or Never: The Lost Photos of Diane Arbus Exclusive One-Day Excursion to NYC, Apr. 5 WHAT: First Person Arts announces an exclusive one-day excursion from Philadelphia to NYC to view the work of legendary photographer, Diane Arbus and hear the story of the discovery of vintage Arbus prints. On April 5th, a collection of Arbus photographs that have been missing since the 1960s will be exhibited for the first – and possibly last – time, after which they will be sold at auction by Phillips du Pury in NY. The First Person group will travel by […]
‘A MORE PERFECT UNION’: Remarks of Senator Barack Obama, Constitution Center, Philadelphia
THE GREAT RECKONING: Sen. Barack Obama, Constitution Center [photo by MICHAEL T. REGAN] “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. […]