At JBs April 2nd.
UN-AMERICAN: NYC Police Spying Before 2004 RNC Convention Curiously Similar To Philly Police Spying Before 2000 RNC Convention
March 25, 2007 City Police Spied Broadly Before G.O.P. Convention By JIM DWYER NEW YORK TIMES For at least a year before the 2004 Republican National Convention, teams of undercover New York City police officers traveled to cities across the country, Canada and Europe to conduct covert observations of people who planned to protest at the convention, according to police records and interviews. From Albuquerque to Montreal, San Francisco to Miami, undercover New York police officers attended meetings of political groups, posing as sympathizers or fellow activists, the records show. They made friends, shared meals, swapped e-mail messages and then […]
PHILLY MAG: Looking For Rosebud In The Winter Of Our Dissed Content
Press Lord 2.0 Can a self-made ad man with big ideas and a Walter Annenberg fascination save the Inquirer and Daily News? Maybe. But when Brian Tierney’s finished, the newspaper business may never be the same By Jason Fagone THEY HAD LET THE PLACE GO TO HELL. Tierney could see it the first day he walked in the door. In the lobby alone, the paint was peeling and the floor was dirty. The reception desk was plated with metal that gave off a chilly, clinical vibe. Off in the corner was an old Panasonic on a TV cart, an orange […]
TODAY I…GOT SHOT AT
“Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which tends to […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Don’t Blinq, You’ll Miss It
From: Gordon, Anne Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 5:13 PM To: Inquirer Subject: metro column news Staff, I am pleased to announce that Dan Rubin [pictured, left] will become a full-time Metro columnist, effective immediately. His column will appear on Wednesdays. He eventually will move to twice a week. Meanwhile, Annette John-Hall will debut her column this Friday. Annette delayed the start of her try out so that she might tend to some personal issues. She is back now and ready to write. Please welcome her new column, focusing on local issues, people and places, when it appears tomorrow. Anne […]
THE EARLY WORD: By The Way, Which One’s Pink?
[Click image to activate Internet]
OBIT: Bruce Langfeld, Rocker, Writer, Sad Man
BY GAYLE RONAN SIMS INQUIRER STAFF Bruce Langfeld, 45, singer-songwriter and guitarist for roots-rock band Bag of Hammers and others in the 1990s, was found dead on Sunday in his Center City apartment. Jeff Moran, spokesman for the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, said the cause of death is pending lab tests. “He was last seen alive 10 days prior to his body being found, but the report does not indicate he was dead that long,” Moran said. “No one has told me that foul play is suspected.” “My brother struggled with depression most of his life,” said his sister, Nancy […]
SPANK THE MONKEY: Philly Judge Strikes Down Fed Porn Law
Writing that he “may not turn a blind eye to the law in order to attempt to satisfy my urge to protect this nation’s youth by upholding a flawed statute,” a federal judge in Philadelphia this morning struck down another of Congress’ attempts to restrict pornography on the Internet.U.S. District Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr. ruled that the 1998 Children’s Online Protection Act was ineffective, overly broad and violated First Amendment’s free-speech clause because it was not the “least restrictive” way Congress could have tackled the thorny problem of children’s access to pornography on a personal computer. The law, known […]
MEDIA: INQUIRER KILLS SHISTER COLUMN
LONGTIME Inqwaster television columnist Gail Shister (pictured, below right) has been stripped of her assignment, in a move that’s been met with surprise and disapproval by many at that paper and at the Daily News. On Tuesday, Shister was told she would no longer be writing her widely read column, and would instead be asked to do more pop-culture television features, she confirmed yesterday. “We’re all part of a new world here, and I never thought I’d be immune, but I’m not ready to uncork the champagne yet,” Shister said of her disappointment. “There are better ways to utilize my […]
HIZZONER ’07: Mayor Duh?
BY JILL PORTER “I’M NOT A dumb candidate. I just play one on the witness stand.” At least you’d hope that’s what Bob Brady would say after his disturbingly unimpressive court appearance yesterday Tuesday. The congressman was evasive and combative, and seemed clueless about simple financial concepts. He proclaimed more than once that he didn’t understand questions he was being asked. Brady testified in a hearing to decide whether he should be ousted from the mayor’s race, based on allegations that he omitted required information from the financial-disclosure forms he filed with his nominating petitions. And you have to wonder […]
THE EARLY WORD: Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord
KESWICK THEATRE FRI., APR. 6 @ 8 PM & SAT., APR. 7 @ both 5 & 9 PM During these shows, patrons are respectfully requested to bring non-perishable, non-glass food items to benefit Philabundance, www.philabundance.org, an organization dedicated to providing hunger relief in the Delaware Valley. A collection bin will be in the lobby throughout the week and all are welcome to contribute during regular box office hours.
Hoping Against Hope, Rescue Teams Work To Unearth George Washington’s Slaves; ‘Unlikely Anyone Still Alive,’ Says Expert; ‘You Gotta Believe,’ Says Mayor*
BY JOSEPH SLOBODZIAN OF THE INQUIRER Calling it the first step in “digging for the truth,” Mayor Street and National Park Service officials this morning broke ground for the memorial to the first presidential residence – and to the slaves who lived there serving the first president.”We’re digging for the truth about the start of this country and the great tragedy of slavery, which affects everything we do in this country today,” Street told a crowd of about 150 at the corner of Sixth and Market Streets on Independence Mall. Street then climbed into the cab of a green track […]
Philly Pretzels Sent To War On Terror, Army Hoping To Render Taliban Sluggish And Couch-Bound With Warm Doughy Goodness
Some US troops in Afghanistan are getting a taste of Philly courtesy of a South Philadelphia soft pretzel company. A picture of 13 US Air Force members in Afghanistan, armed with automatic weapons and soft pretzels, is now on display in the front entrance of Federal Pretzel Baking Company. The general manager of the store, Richard Bezila, says he sent a box of pretzels earlier this month to Master Sgt. Larry Polettie of Delaware County (front row, left), who is serving in Operation Enduring Freedom: “With it being a fresh product I had no idea what would happen.” So did […]