RT: The Pentagon burned 9,500 copies of a book it deemed a threat to national security. The US government paid the publisher nearly $50,000 dollars in printing costs, had the books pulled and destroyed. A government approved censored version of US Army Lt. Col Anthony Shaffer’s “Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan” was then released. Shaffer said he worked with the Army to ensure the information in the book was in line with the required procedures. He said he was careful to ensure the information in the book would not endanger US troops. During […]

INQUIRER: The super-rich got richer, but not so much in the Philadelphia area, according to Forbes’ new list of the wealthiest Americans. No new local names joined the four from last year, and the quartet’s estimated collective worth was up less than 3 percent. Nationwide, however, the Forbes 400 Richest Americans saw their portfolios bulge by 8 percent, as the cutoff to join the club rose to $1 billion from $950 million. The Philadelphia-area members are: Richard Hayne, 63, the Urban Outfitters founder who lives in the city, ranked 308 with $1.3 billion, about the same as a year ago. […]

THE NEW REPUBLIC: If the Obama landslide dragged Axelrod to Washington against his better judgment (his wife said he’d never forgive himself for staying put), the one judgment he never set aside was the inanity of D.C. custom. Even before Obama arrived at the White House, Axelrod had grand plans for scrambling protocol. Recent presidents had materialized at the Capitol like patriotic bunting. Axelrod imagined Obama traveling by train from Springfield, Illinois, gathering up ordinary folks along the way. “We wouldn’t just bring their concerns to Washington, we’d bring them to Washington,” says one inauguration official. Compared to the feats […]

DAN DELUCA: From its title, Maya, you might think M.I.A.’s confrontational (and disappointing) new album would be her most personal to date. Instead, its wall of digital noise, which aims to offer insight into the wired-yet-alienated way we live, loses her human voice amid the clutter. M.I.A., who was accompanied by a DJ, several dancers, and three burka-clad backup singers who remained in a dimly lit corner of the stage, did connect with her fans physically. She crowd-surfed stylishly in her long-sleeved buttoned-up black-and-white ensemble during a ruggedly rhythmic “Bamboo Banga” and the closing, cathartic “Paper Planes.” She sat atop […]

MAGELLAN STRATEGIES: Today Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies released survey results in the state of Pennsylvania of likely general electon voters.  The survey of 1,430 respondents finds: – Congressional generic ballot, Republican candidate with 47%, Democrat candidate 37%. – Republican Tom Corbett leads Democrat Dan Onorat0 by 12 points, 50% to 38% respectively. – Republican Pat Toomey leads Democrat Joes Sestak by 8 points, 49% to 41% respectively. MORE

INQUIRER: The shutout win not only guaranteed Philadelphia another division title, but also the best record in the NL, meaning they will have home-field advantage in next week’s NL division series – and beyond, should they advance. “It’s just amazing what this bunch has accomplished,” said Jayson Werth, who homered, doubled and had four RBIs, but may not be back if there’s a fifth straight next season. “And we’re not satisfied yet. Not done yet.” This fourth division crown marked the most this franchise has won in succession. The Mike Schmidt-Steve Carlton Phils had won three straight from 1976 through […]

Belmont Plateau 1:05 PM by JEFF FUSCO

MALCOLM GLADWELL:  Gil Scott-Heron is frequently called the “godfather of rap,” which is an epithet he doesn’t really care for. In 1968, when he was nineteen, he wrote a satirical, spoken-word piece called “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” It was released on a very small label in 1970. It is the species of classic that sounds as subversive and intelligent now as it did when it was new. Scott-Heron calls himself a bluesologist. He is sixty-one, tall and scrawny. Writer visits Scott-Heron at his apartment where he was watching a tape of the Rumble in the Jungle fight between […]

ED SCHULTZ: “Here’s the bottom line: what we’re seeing out of this governor of New Jersey is just go to the money, cut whoever you have to cut, there is no ramification for any of this because he’s a cold-hearted fat slob anyway,” Schultz said. “The bottom line is, when he doesn’t like what he hears he accuses the other side of shouting. It’s a typical, typical right-wing approach to the competition. And that’s how they view their constituents when they don’t agree with them.” MORE RELATED: Reefer Sadness

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