June 2010
Buergenthal cheated the gas chamber through a combination of remarkable good fortune and the inspiring kindness of a few individuals … on the freezing journey east in open cattle cars, as the Nazis tried to hide their terrible secret from the approaching Russians, something remarkable happened: Czech partisans threw loaves bread from bridges to the skeletal Jews as they thundered past...
Jun 1st
May 2010
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Five Links:
Global Voices in Jamaica.  Ed Ward, On Music from Vietnam: http://n.pr/djd6tS John Huston’s The Battle of San Pietro. Man single-handedly building Metro rail. Boston Bay State Banner: Haitian delegation returns; disappointed with progress: http://tinyurl.com/2wjoufe
May 31st
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May 31st
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May 31st
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May 31st
Here’s what you need to read about the Flotilla Attack that happened late last night, which is probably going to dominate this week’s headlines: Glenn Greenwald. Informed Comment. Israel: Lost at Sea. The Guardian. Desmond Tutu. BoingBoing. George Friedman. The Israelis desperately deserve a better government than the one they currently have — for everyone’s sake.
May 31st
You know, on a personal note — I’ve been thinking: an environmental Dunkirk should get a Dunkirk-like response. As soon as I get half a dime to my name, I’m going down to the coast to help, and I hope I see you there, too.
May 31st
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May 31st
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May 30th
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May 30th
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Five Links:
What was it like to be a writer on Firefly? UK launches a ‘conservation credit.’ Mardi Gras costume designs from 1873. Feminism’s work is not finished, say panelists at the Radcliffe Institute http://ow.ly/17xS1g Motel postcards, a photoset.
May 29th
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May 28th
Three Manuals:
Foreign Affairs Manual. Book Repair Manual. U.S. Attorney Manual.
May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
Notes on my Work II: Extra Dialouge.
This was supposed to go somewhere in “All Hands On The Bright Line,” but I was never satisfied as to the ultimate where: Mayor Wilkins: Sorry, Rosen! I thought that one was genuinely dead. Mark Rosen: You shot a bear! Oh my god. You shot a bear. Mayor Wilkins: It was a genuine mistake! Mark Rosen: It was a genuine mistake — plus a live bear.
May 28th
Werner Finck and Anti-Nazi Jokes.
To the best of our immediate knowledge, there is only one book that exists that focuses on Anti-Nazi jokes leading up to — and during — World War II. I tried to turn the jokes into a short story of their own. Here is an excerpt of that, focusing on Werner Finck, a video of whom is posted above; after the war was over, the saying goes that soldiers thought that this man — a...
May 28th
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Comedy in Pakistan.
There are an estimated 22 to 28 million people currently living in the cities of Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Current estimates list the largest Taliban group in Pakistan — the TTP, who claimed responsibility for the botched Times Square car bombing — at a number of 35,000. While the American army and CIA fight along the Af-Pak border; while the Pakistani army fights in Swat Valley,...
May 28th
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Global Comedy Chapbook 2010.
This is an intentional mess: comedy isn’t Monty Python or David Letterman ad infinitum; there is a vibrant, active, and lively culture at work all around the world, and the aim of publishing this chapbook is to act as an aggregating agent for that. There is plenty to see in Canada and Australia — and the cautionary tale of any sort of overtly critical or light-handed perspective is constantly on...
May 28th
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NEW DEHLI: A pigeon is being kept under armed guard by Indian police on charge of espionage for Pakistan. The pigeon was found by a local resident in the Indian state of Punjab and was taken to a police station 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Amritsar, media reported on Friday. The pigeon had a ring around its foot, a phone number from Pakistan and an address stamped on its body in red ink. ...
May 28th
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May 28th
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Five Links:
Iran: Two Bloggers and Student Leader on Hunger Strike in Prison. Tony Hayward: A Month in Quotes. (P.S.: register to volunteer to clean up the mess.) Fleet marks Dunkirk anniversary.  Someone with Grassroots United blogs about their first full week in Haiti. Nigera’s Literary Scene in the 21st Century.
May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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May 28th
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Five Links:
A Crash Course on Iranian Cinema. Chileans built 45,000 temporary wooden relief shelters after the Feb 27 earthquake. Watch one man’s story: http://cot.ag/aYYKo7 10 Ways to Cut Oil Use. 826 Boston releases two books. Slime Mold Maps Model Efficient Route Networks.
May 28th
May 27th
1 tag
Five Links:
New Arcade Fire. U.S. Sells 20% of Citi Shares at a Profit. David Byrne: The Architecture of Fear. Feed the Future Initiative.  Congressional Oversight Panel Hearing on AIG TARP Assistance.
May 26th
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May 26th
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May 26th
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May 26th
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West Wing Report tweets — That the WH called reporters into the press office privately today to criticize them for asking about BP over & over is disturbing. Firedoglake explodes — 1) Obama needs to use that goddamned unitary executive power he’s been clinging to and declare a state of emergency in federal waters along the Gulf of Mexico, using an Executive Order. This is now...
May 26th
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May 25th
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If you want to register to help clean up the Gulf Coast, go here.
May 25th
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May 25th
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May 25th
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On May 2, Gov. Jindal requested that federal authorities and BP provide three million feet of absorbent boom, five million feet of hard boom and 30 ‘jack up’ barges. Of that, less than 800,000 feet of hard boom has arrived - less than a fifth of the request. About 140,000 feet of that hard boom is sitting waiting for BP to tell contractors where to take it. “It is clear we don’t...
May 25th
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May 25th
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“Student: Name a scary movie. Volunteer: The Corporation. Student: Never...”
– 826 Seattle.
May 25th
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Five Links:
Apichatpong Weerasethakul Wins Palme d’Or at Cannes http://nyti.ms/aFf0l5 Creative Spaces for Schools: Teton Valley Community School Case Study. Greeks buying British gold sovreigns. Scientists Teleport Information Over 10 Miles. America’s Least Visited National Monuments.
May 24th
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“New facebook privacy policy: you should totally give all your personal data to...”
– G. Xavier Robillard.
May 24th
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If the Taliban produced a soap opera, Pakistani comedy writer Younis Butt pondered one day, what would it be like? The love triangles would be impossible to understand, he thought, because all the women would be hidden behind burkas and no one would know which character was engaged in a heated tiff with another. An Islamic variety show would be equally absurd, he decided. With singing and...
May 24th
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May 24th
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May 24th
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ON BARATARIA BAY, La. — The pelican was shaking, covered in oil, waiting to die and not alone. It was surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of its species, brown pelicans roosting on a small island in the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico amid an ecological disaster. … Some pelicans frantically brushed oily feathers with their bills while others, full coated in black ooze, simply stood and...
May 24th