[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY MICHAEL DONOVAN In this post-American Idiot world we live in, it seems just about everyone wants to make a Big Statement concept album. More often than not, however, the much-ballyhooed “concept” is more or less indiscernible (I’m looking at you, Mars Volta). So when I heard that the latest from Lupe Fiasco would be continuing the story of The Cool begun on 2006’s Food and Liquor, I was a bit skeptical — the concept album is a very hard feat to pull off, especially on a sophomore record. As it turns out, The Cool is […]
KILLADELPHIA: Pregger Northeast Woman Killed By Shotgun Blast To The Back, Doctors Save Baby
BY SAM WOOD INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A pregnant woman was shot dead in the city’s Frankford section overnight, police said, but doctors at Temple University Hospital were able to save her child. The expectant young mother was killed by a single shotgun blast to her back shortly after 1 a.m. on the 4600 block of Griscomb Street, police said. The woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, was found by police at 1:18 a.m. inside a parked car with her legs draped out the door. Her baby girl was expected to survive after an emergency delivery at Temple, police said. The […]
TODAY I SAW: The Ramsey Crimefighting Plan
BY JEFF DEENEY Newly anointed police chief Ramsey released his crime fighting strategy yesterday, a very readable and accessible 22 page document that provides a first look into the mind of the man who will be leading the charge against violent crime as the Nutter administration ramps up. The Nutter administration continues to look promising to me; he’s moved fast to get promised policy documents into the public’s hands and there is a sense I think most of us share that some shit is finally starting to get done around here. Last week some major, desperately needed changes were announced […]
PAPERBOY: ‘Lawyers Guns & Money’ 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. 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 […]
ANONYMOUS Vs Church Of Scientology
PREVIOUSLY: Hacker Swarm Declares War On Scientology
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
9 p.m. TONITE on TV12: The Beatles’ stoned second film venture presents Ringo as the target of a mad scientist and Indian cultists. Hilarity ensues. FRESH AIR Sergei Tretyakov was an operative of the KGB, the former Soviet intelligence service. When the Soviet Union dissolved, the agency changed its name, but its mission remained the same. Tretyakov was nominally a press officer at the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York. In reality, he was running a number of intelligence agents who, in turn, were trying to get information out of Americans and others at the U.N. In […]
FROM THE GRASSY KNOLL: The State Of Their Union
Check out this frame-by-frame breakdown of film footage shot by drycleaning magnate Abraham Zapruder standing on the Grassy Knoll of the Senate during the State Of The Union address Monday night. Senator Clinton, the Lady In Red, comes over to shake Ted Kennedy‘s hand, and in the process triangulate the Kennedy/Obama Bridge To Camelot. In reaction, Obama moves back … and to the left. Back … and to the left.
THE FUNNY PAPERS: An Inconvenient Truth
[Courtesy of MARRIED TO THE SEA]
NEWS CLUES: ‘Take This Job & Love It’ Edition
MR. NUTTER GOES TO WASHINGTON: Takes Nation’s Capital By Storm WASHINGTON — Mayor Nutter’s dinner was getting cold. There were dozens of hands to shake before he could eat. Fellow mayors, business executives, nonprofit leaders and lobbyists: They lined up three deep, hoping for a moment of his time. Nutter is accustomed to that sort of attention in Philadelphia. But in Washington? “It’s a little strange when you’re out of town,” Nutter said as he finally broke free of the crowd at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors last week. Less than a month into his administration, it […]
THE LONG GOODBYE: John Edwards Bows Out
DENVER — Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters’ sympathies, The Associated Press has learned. The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two aides. The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the […]
MEDIA: How Fox News Lost Its Mind-Control Mojo
BY ERIC BOEHLERT FOR MEDIA MATTERS My guess is that Fox News guru Roger Ailes has been reaching for the Tums more often than usual early in the New Year, and there are lots of reasons for the hovering angst. Let’s take an extended multiple choice quiz. Right now, which of the following topics is likely causing the discomfort inside Ailes’ Fox News empire? A) CNN’s resurgence as the go-to cable destination for election coverage. B) The incredible shrinking candidacy of Fox News’ favored son, Rudy Giuliani. C) The still-standing candidacy of Fox News nemesis and well-funded, anti-war GOP candidate […]
WHY WE FIGHT: Afghan Senate OKs Death Sentence For Journalism Student Who Distributed Internet Materials That Ask ‘If Islam Allows Men Multiple Wives Why Doesn’t It Allow Women Multiple Husbands?’
KABUL (AFP) — Afghanistan’s senate has endorsed a death sentence handed down by a court to a reporter and journalism student accused of blasphemy, the parliament media office said Wednesday. The senate, called the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), issued a statement Tuesday backing last week’s decision by the Balkh province primary court and criticising international pressure over the case, an official told AFP. The court sentenced Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, to death for distributing articles downloaded from the Internet that were said to question the Koran and the role of women in Islam. “The Meshrano Jirga endorses the Balkh primary […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS: Japanese Firms Gives Employees Time Off For Heart Break BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhuanet) — If you are in Japan working in a company called Himes & Company, you can have a “heartache leave” if you feel frustrated over the ending of a relationship. This Tokyo company’s latest employee benefit sets a new standard for employer compassion. Their lovelorn staff can take paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner. “Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, ” said Miki Hiradate, chief executive of the company. Its workers 24 […]