INQUIRER: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is investigating whether a $15,000 political contribution from Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider, who is a partner in the Foxwoods Casino planned for Center City, violated the state ban on campaign giving by gambling interests. Snider gave $15,000 on Jan. 15 to Comcast Corp. PAC-USA, a political committee registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State. The 2004 gaming act prohibits any casino principals from contributing “to any political party committee or other political committee in this commonwealth.” […] Snider has 8 percent of the Foxwoods venture as part of Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners L.P., […]
STOP THE DEATH STAR I WANNA GET OFF: NSA Spy Matrix Runs Amok, Devours Fourth Amendment
NEW YORK TIMES: The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews. Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional. The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, […]
EARLY WORD: Get Your Filthy Paws Offa Me!
JB’S: Michael Johnson’s Ape School features members of Lilys, Human Television, and Holopaw. After some fine tuning, Johnson and company have crafted an intriguing collage of influences which amount to a melodic, head spinning treat of shoegazey tremolo and effect-driven ambience. Ape School’s record will be released on Ninja Tune’s Counter Records on April 28th on the U.S. MORE
GAYDAR EXTRA: Chickenhawk Of The Sea
Mischief, mayhem, madness, oh my! But it all happens underwater this time. Tonight the Dumpsta Players, those rancorous ruffians of all things retro, are showcasing Prom-Trash: Under the Sea at Bob and Barbara’s tonight. Both ladies and gents are invited to participate. Trashing Disney is encouraged. You’ll be in good company (Ho White, Sleepy Booty, and even an imminently outed Sponge-Bob). And as the name implies, whoever’s the trashiest takes home the crown. Best of all kiddies, entrance to the Prom-Trash: Under the Sea is granted but for a shrimpy $1.99. So why not bask in the glory of the […]
STOP PIRACY: Help This Man Save The Internet
WIRED: Time Warner Cable plans to test its controversial, new scheme to have users pay by the gigabyte in Rochester, New York, but the area’s freshman congressman calls usage caps greedy and plans to introduce legislation to stop it. New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa called TWC’s proposal to switch its 8.4 million cable broadband customers to metered internet billing an “outrageous plan to tax the American people.”Massa, a longtime blogger at the liberal site DailyKos, says he will be joined by a “legion of activists” and called the fight against usage caps a “national issue of generational consequences.” However, […]
WARNING: Reading The Philadelphia Inquirer May Cause Hairy Palms, Blindness, Eternal Damnation, Etc.
Not that there’s anything wrong with it. [Video: Afternoon Delight with John Thornton]
This Is Why Mel Gibson Is Getting D-i-v-o-r-c-e-d
ONEINDIA: Russian popstar Oksana Pochepa [pictured, above] admits she was the girl photographed frolicking with Mel Gibson on a beach, and adds that she has fallen for the actor. Pochepa says she is smitten by the 53-year-old actor and hopes their love is “strong and long-lasting.” Just weeks after the snaps were published, the movie legend’s wife Robyn Gibson, 52, filed for divorce. “This is serious and I hope that our union will be real and strong and long-lasting,” the Sun quoted Pochepa as saying. “We are different people, but Mel is a grown man and knows precisely what he […]
Spanish Prosecutors To Bring Bush 6 Up On Charges
DAILY BEAST: Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. The six defendants—in addition to Gonzales, Federal Appeals Court Judge and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff David […]
EARLY WORD: Book ‘Em, Danno
The Free Library Festival—a burst of books, music, and inspiration on the Parkway—will take place Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, 2009. Join us at the Parkway Central Library for two days full of stimulating talks by award-winning writers, live music, children’s entertainment, and a bustling literary marketplace thronged with booklovers and booksellers. A fun, free way to spend the day, the Free Library Festival connects booklovers from throughout the mid-Atlantic region with the culture makers of the literary world. MORE And look for an exclusive Phawker Q&A with the mighty Joe Queenan later this week! Joe Queenan | […]
MOBY: Shot In The Back Of The Head
Animation by David Lynch. Song from the forthcoming Moby album Wait For Me, due out June 30th on Mute.
YARRRR: Somali Pirates Seize Another Freighter
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Two maritime security contractors say Somali pirates hijacked a freighter in the Gulf of Aden overnight. They say the M.V. Irene E.M. is the latest target of pirates who appear undeterred by U.S. and French navy attacks that killed seven bandits in the past week to free four hostages. That includes the weekend’s dramatic rescue of the American captain of a U.S. freighter. The contractors did not know the ship’s owner or where it is licensed. They spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because it is a sensitive security issue. The Irene is at least the third […]
VERDICT: Phil Spector Guilty Of Murder
NEW YORK TIMES: Phil Spector, the rock music impresario behind hits like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling,” was convicted Monday of murdering a struggling actress at his mansion in 2003 after a night of drinking. Music producer Phil Spector, center, surrounded by his defense team during closing arguments at the retrial murder case in Los Angeles in March. Mr. Spector, 68, faces at least 18 years in prison. The jury, ending a five-month trial, reached its decision after 27 hours of deliberating whether he shot the woman in a fit of anger or, as his […]
RIP: Harry Kalas, Voice Of The Phillies, Dead At 73
[Photo by jasonford] INQUIRER: Harry Kalas, the Phillies’ Hall of Fame announcer, died at 1:20 p.m. today, the Phillies announced. Mr. Kalas collapsed in the press box at Nationals Stadium in Washington at about 12:30 p.m. and was rushed to George Washington University Medial Center. The cause of the death was not announced. Today’s game against the Nationals will be played, but the team will not visit the White House tomorrow. MORE PREVIOUSLY: Legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas has been taken by ambulance to a Washington area hospital after he was found passed out in the press box at Nationals […]