We’ve all read stories about American citizens arrested by Secret Service agents for essentially voicing dissenting political opinions within earshot of the Vice President — the most memorable being the Katrina victim that told Cheney to go f**k himself during a photo op visit to the Gulf region. Invariably, the charges are dropped and the detained are set free once Cheney’s motorcade has left the scene. But the sheer volume of these arrests is pretty astonishing. If you Google “Cheney Secret Service Protester Arrest” you get 411,000 results. One of those protesters — a Colorado physician named Steven Howards — […]
CINEMA: Unveiled
PERSEPOLIS (2007, directed by Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi, 96 minutes, France) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC The new animated film from France, Persepolis takes its name from the bygone capitol of what is now Iran. It’s a fitting title for this engrossing coming-of-age story, throwing its heroine into the tides of history with its story of a modern young woman searching for her place among an ancient culture. Animated in an uncluttered black and white style, Persepolis rescues what could be a sentimental, time-worn tale by presenting a complicated cross-cultural journey riddled with blasts of Western Pop adrenaline. Prepare […]
Q&A: 12 Useful Facts About Juno‘s Kimya Dawson
[As told to JONATHAN VALANIA/Illustration by ALEX FINE] 1. Kimya Malaika Dawson‘s name means ‘Quiet Angel’ in Swahili. She is not, however, Swahili. It was all her parents idea. Obviously. 2. Miss Dawson’s 18-month-old daughter is named Panda Delilah Dawson. “There was no second choice, it was certain from the beginning that it was gonna be ‘Panda Delilah’ whether it was a boy or a girl,” says Miss Dawson, explaining that Tom Jones was playing when she went into labor. Not in concert, on the stereo. Obviously. 3. All of Miss Dawson’s songs on the Juno soundtrack were originally written […]
STRANGER THAN FICTION: U Can’t Make This Shit Up!
NJ Neo Nazi Radio Host Accused Of Being An FBI Informant Calls It Quits New Jersey radio host Hal Turner [NOT pictured, above] is well known as one of the most vicious neo-Nazis in America, a man who routinely suggests killing his enemies. Railing against President Bush, he told his audience last June that “a well-placed bullet can solve a lot of problems.” He has written that “we need to start SHOOTING AND KILLING Mexicans as they cross the border” and argued that killing certain federal judges “may be illegal, but it wouldn’t be wrong.” In 2006, after he published […]
TONITE: Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Rum
[Click image to activate Internets]
PAPERBOY: ‘Hipster Art Boys & A Dead Girl’ Edition
BY AMY Z. QUINN 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. Hey, we know how it is — so many words to read, so little time to surf for free porn. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you, freeing up valuable […]
THE EARLY WORD: The Elephant And The Dove
Hayden Herrera Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Sacred Monsters Wednesday, February 13, 8:00 p.m., Series B The Free Library $14 General Admission, $7 Students Renowned art historian Hayden Herrera’s influential 1983 biography, Frida, helped establish the Mexican artist’s reputation in America and was used as source material for the acclaimed 2002 film of the same name. Herrera’s presentation at the Free Library will occur in conjunction with the arrival of a new Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Herrera curated. Her talk and slideshow will focus on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s relationship as revealed. MORE […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
INCONVENIENT TRUTH: 2007 Was The Warmest Year In Recorded History 2007 was another record-breaking year for the Earth’s climate. This week’s report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that 2007 was the warmest ever for all the land areas on Earth and the tenth warmest on record for the U.S. Temple University Geology Professor Laura Toran says she’s not surprised: “We’ve been seeing this trend over the last ten years really. The top five warmest years on record are all ones we’ve lived through in the last ten years, and if you look at the top ten years […]
AMERICAN TALIBAN: Ex-GOP Congressman Indicted For Terroristic Lobbying & Laundering al-Qaida Money
ASSOCIATED PRESS: WASHINGTON (AP) — A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan. The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists. A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American […]
WORTH REPEATING: The MSM’s Wafer-Thin Skin
Salon’s indispensable Glenn Greenwald got into a dust-up with CNN’s John King after Greenwald called him on the carpet for throwing nothing but softballs in an insufferably fawning interview with John McCain. King’s arrogant response is, to say the least, disappointing for its wounded-ego defensiveness and I-Live-In-A-Bubble-And-Proud-Of-It cluelessness. But beyond that, as Greenwald points out, it is fascinating in its similarity — both in tone and content — to likeminded missives from other aggrieved MSM mandarins decrying the cruelty and irrelevance of the blogosphere. It’s almost like they had a secret meeting and hammered out a boilerplate response to blogger slings […]
PAY TO PLAY: Feds Sniffing Councilman Kelly’s Butt
DAILY NEWS: Federal authorities are investigating City Councilman Jack Kelly’s office, the Daily News has learned. The councilman at large — who squeaked back into office in November by 122 votes — has been questioned by FBI agents, as have members of his staff, sources said. Kelly yesterday refused to discuss specifics, but downplayed the probe. “I think it’s much ado about nothing, probably,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to come out of it. It may not be anything.” Sources close to the probe said the feds have been asking questions about Kelly’s chief of staff, Chris Wright, […]