STEVE VOLK: The problem is getting “young people” to read newspapers — either in print or online — and personally, it’s not my experience that, as Doctor suggests, we need the brightest minds of the Harvard Crimson to “reinvent journalism” in order to make that happen. I happen to work in a town, Philadelphia, overrun by bloggers. The reinvention of journalism is happening all around us here, where Will Bunch of the Daily News continues to be the hardest-working man in show business, writing a book, stories for his paper, and a blog, Attytood, that makes me feel part of […]
SEPTA GIRL: Beware The White Cadillac Man
BY PHILLY GRRL There are those people who refuse to take SEPTA at night. I am not one of them. On any given week, out of a mixture of sheer stubbornness and necessity, I join the throngs of second-shift workers on their way home. Riding at night is different. Gone are the students and suit-and-tied office workers who pack the aisles during the day. The buses go faster. There is no lingering at stops. People are tired and their tiredness gives way to a sort of looseness that only appears at night. That particular night, I sat at the bus […]
LIVE AND DIRECT: The Inky Yoo Torture Protest
Photo by PHILLYBITS BY KYLEE MESSNER “Phoo on you, we hate Yoo,” chanted Norman Koener, head member of Philadelphia’s World Can’t Wait chapter. Unfortunately for Koener, a crowd of photographers and Delaware Valley War Veterans were the only ears listening to World Can’t Wait’s pleas to stop torture. Sporting a mask resembling torture lawyer John Yoo, Koener and WCW carried on with their protest against torture and waterboarding demonstration as planned for the National Day Against Torture. Hoping to gain support for prosecution against those responsible for committing torture at, the organization laid their attacks on the U.S. government as […]
TONITE: When I Say ‘Obama!’ U Say ‘Ayers!’
Come to Moonstone Arts Center tonight. Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn will be in Philly TONIGHT for a discussion and signing of their new book RACE COURSE: AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY, along with activist and poet Haki R. Madhubuti, who will read from and sign copies of his latest release LIBERATION NARRATIVES: NEW AND COLLECTED POEMS 1966-2009. And, I’ll be there! How could you miss out? Bill and Bernardine will discuss how systemic racial inequality in the criminal justice system, education, and housing illustrate the powerful pull of bigotry in our times. Open Q & A with the audience will follow. […]
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 […]
SPECIAL REPORT: The Good News Flower Hour
SPECIAL REPORT: GNFH #23 Today is SAY NO TO U.S. TORTURE POLICY Day. We made this reminder so you don’t forget. You’re welcome. RELATED: Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, it has emerged. At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. Another apparently shows a female prisoner having […]
EARLY WORD: Stop The Death Star, I Wanna Get Off
TORTURE IS A WAR CRIME! FIRE, DISBAR AND PROSECUTE TORTURE ARCHITECT JOHN YOO! RELEASE THE PHOTOS! PROSECUTE THE WAR CRIMINALS! EVENT: Press Conference and Waterboarding Demonstration When: Thursday, May 28th, 2009 4:30 PM Where: The Philadelphia Inquirer 400 N. Broad Street (Philadelphia, PA) — In the face of the Obama administration’s refusal to release a reported 2,000 more photographs of detainee abuse — in spite of being ordered by a federal court to do so — torture opponents in fifteen (15) U.S. cities will hold visible protests to demand that the government make the […]
BOARD GAME: Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
MORE [h/t P. RYDDY] * THE WORLD CAFE As a child, Benjy Ferree dreamed of becoming an actor. After discovering his love of music, he moved to Washington, D.C., and began playing gigs at local clubs. Before long, Ferree’s vintage Americana music had caught the eye of a label, which put out Leaving the Nest, a folksy, acoustic and blues-filled album that won the singer many new fans. Ferree’s new follow-up, Come Back to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee, Bobby Dee, tells the tragic story of Disney actor Bobby Driscoll in song. Though he sticks to Americana, Ferree adds […]
GUNS N’ ROSES: Judge Acquits Gun Shop Protesters
MONICA YANT KINNEY: Twelve religious activists pulled off a legal miracle yesterday: They convinced a judge — who once worked for the Philadelphia Police Department, of all places — that it’s OK to break the law if the harm you cause is less than the harm you think you’re preventing.The unusual case pitted ministers, a rabbi, and one self-described professional “peacemaker” against James Colosimo’s eponymous gun shop on Spring Garden Street. So many people came to listen — 150 by my count — the trial had to be moved to a bigger courtroom. For six hours, a passionate prosecutor in […]
ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND: Sniffing Out The Paper Trail Of Prez Obama’s SCOTUS Pick
NEW YORK TIMES: Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial opinions are marked by diligence, depth and unflashy competence. If they are not always a pleasure to read, they are usually models of modern judicial craftsmanship, which prizes careful attention to the facts in the record and a methodical application of layers of legal principles. Judge Sotomayor, whom President Obama announced Tuesday as his choice for the Supreme Court, has issued no major decisions concerning abortion, the death penalty, gay rights or national security. In cases involving criminal defendants, employment discrimination and free speech, her rulings are more liberal than not.But they reveal […]
WICHITA LINEMAN: You Can’t Fight City Hall, But You Sure As Heck Can F*ck It Up With Your Car
KWCH: The surveillance video shows a Lincoln Towncar crashing through the East-facing doors of Wichita’s City Hall, barreling through the hall in an almost perfectly straight line. The car exits through the west side of the building, destroying security equipment and a revolving door, before stopping in the attached parking garage. MORE KWCH: A man who pleaded no contest to driving his car through Wichita City Hall has been sentenced to just over ten years in prison. No one was hurt in the crash. The crash in January of 2008 caused at least $200,000 in damage to city hall. MORE
SCIENCE: The End Of Baldness?
TELEGRAPH: A cure for baldness has come a step closer after scientists identified a gene that is connected to hair loss. The breakthrough should help scientists develop new treatments as well as help pinpoint early in life which men are likely to lose their hair. The Sox21 gene has in the past been shown to be linked to the formation of nerve cells, but the new study is the first to indicate its function in ensuring hair retention. Researchers made the finding during experiments on mice which, like humans, carry the gene. The scientists blocked the activity of the gene […]
THIS JUST IN: All Men Not Created Equal
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The California Supreme Court today upheld Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage but also ruled that gay couples who wed before the election will continue to be married under state law. The decision virtually ensures another fight at the ballot box over marriage rights for gays. Gay rights activists say they may ask voters to repeal the marriage ban as early as next year, and opponents have pledged to fight any such effort. Proposition 8 passed with 52% of the vote. Although the court split 6-1 on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the justices were unanimous in […]