[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA Iran, 2009. Millions take to the streets to protest what is widely perceived to be a stolen election, despite the prevailing threat of arrest, bodily harm and a body count that currently numbers a dozen protesters shot dead by government forces. And still, day after day, the Iranian people take to the streets to protest the gross violation of their democratic rights. Rewind. The year is 2000. The place is Florida in the immediate aftermath of a presidential election — Bush vs. Gore. The initial tally has Bush ahead by a mere 300 […]
YELLOW JOURNALISM: The Last Truth Teller
POLITICO: POLITICO learned today that the Washington Post has terminated its relationship with liberal columnist/blogger Dan Froomkin. Froomkin authored the “White House Watch” blog and was told today that the blog had essentially run its course. MORE PAUL KRUGMAN: OK, I have no idea about the actual decision process. But I have a theory about the general mindset of the people who made this decision. Here’s how I see things: many people in the news media, especially at the managerial level, decided a long time ago that movement conservatism was The Future — and that the sensible thing, whether or […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
Do something.
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
MAILBAG: Throw Another Kade On The Barbie, Mate
DEAR PHAWKER, Hi there, am interested in getting in touch with Aaron Stella, regarding his interview with Arthur Kade. I just had a piece published about him here in Australia and am fascinated by his interview. Mainly because it seems to be that after reading your interview it seems to prove to me that, if it’s entirely possible, this is a REAL person, and not some hoax. Anyway, Aaron, feel free to have a read of this article, if indeed you find this as fascinating and bizzarre as I do. CHRIS DEAL Some Guy From Australia RELATED: Touching The Void […]
BOOBS HAVE FEELINGS TOO: Q&A With Will They Grow? Blogger & Breast Test Subject Martina
BY KYLEE MESSNER With blogs like Sorry-mom.com and Thisiswhyyourefat.com, it’s become clear to me that people can and will blog about anything, and many will read, enjoy, and come back for more. When I came across Will They Grow, I figured it was just another shameless self-absorbed blogger seeking attention. Martina, the 26-year-old NYC resident behind WillTheyGrow, assured me otherwise. For those unfamiliar with Martina’s blog, it is a daily documentation of the effects of birth control on her breast size, complete with photos. It’s not necessarily supposed to make sense to viewers, she assures me, and coming across it […]
IRAN: The Counter Revolution Will Be Digitized
[Photo courtesy of TEHRANLIVE.ORG] BBC: All over the world people are monitoring unfolding events in Iran via the internet, where an apparently decisive election victory by the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being challenged on the streets. Although there are signs the Iranian government is trying to cut some communications with the outside world, citizen journalism appears to be thriving on the web. Here is a selection of popular links, many of which have been written from a particular point of view but – when taken together – provide a wide range of perspectives. MORE GUARDIAN: In days gone by, crushing […]
WAR IS OVER: The Drugs Have Won
NEW YORK TIMES: This year marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s start of the war on drugs, and it now appears that drugs have won.“We’ve spent a trillion dollars prosecuting the war on drugs,” Norm Stamper, a former police chief of Seattle, told me. “What do we have to show for it? Drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency. It’s a dismal failure.” For that reason, he favors legalization of drugs, perhaps by the equivalent of state liquor stores or registered pharmacists. Other experts favor keeping drug production and sales illegal but […]
AMERICAN ASSHOLE: Q&A With Arthur Kade
BY AARON STELLA GAYDAR EDITOR Until my Internet-savvy roommate directed me to arthurkade.com—in particular, a post titled Eulogy — I had no idea who Arthur Kade was. Four sentences into the post, I got the picture: he’s a delusional, narcissistic bag-of-douche, a whore to glamor and slave to fashion, but most of all, an irrepressible and frighteningly charismatic advocate of all the ruinous aforesaid. Upon finishing (no small feat without throwing up a little bit in my mouth) I decided to peruse other posts (Drunk Girls, The Kade Scale, Relationships, etc.), when all the sudden, mid-Kade, I felt the journalist […]
THE DEATH OF ANALOG: The Big Switch
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Today, all broadcast television stations in the U.S. have to turn off their analog signals and convert solely to digital. There is no set time today for the transition, so stations may switch at different times during the day. If you have an older analog television and are using an antenna to get your channels, your TV will stop working unless you buy a converter box or sign up for cable, satellite or fiber-optic television service. Converter boxes are sold at many retailers. The federal government is also offering up to two coupons worth $40 each to every […]
ALWAYS RUMMY IN PHILADELPHIA: Danny DeVito
Gettin’ fresh on Fox. Live, no less. Note the can of beer and the fact that it’s 8 AM when this went down. When we grow up, we wanna be Danny DeVito!
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
AXIS OF EVIL: North Korea Sentences Two Female American Journalists To 12 Years Hard Labor
VOICE OF AMERICA: North Korea’s state news agency says a court has sentenced two female American journalists to 12 years of hard labor. The Korean Central News Agency said Monday that the court found the two women guilty of committing an unspecified “grave crime” and illegally crossing into North Korea. Last Thursday, North Korean state media announced the start of the trial of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for the U.S. media company Current TV. North Korean authorities arrested Lee and Ling in March while they were working on a story near the Chinese-North Korean border. U.S. State Department […]