Saturday, May 16, 2009

Y! Alert: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Catholic Priests Defend Obama Top
On the eve of President Obama's controversial commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, priests and lay ministers who worked with him in his community organizer days on Chicago's South Side are having a reunion today. More on Barack Obama
 
Alderman Orders Mural With Police Imagery Painted Over (VIDEO) Top
A provocative and apparently legal Bridgeport mural depicting police surveillance boxes was painted over Friday by order of Ald. Jim Balcer (11th), NBC Chicago reports . Artist Gabriel Villa painted an image of three police surveillance boxes adorned with a deer head, a human skull and Christ on the cross on the wall of a neighborhood tavern and liquor store near 31st and Morgan at the request of a local gallery owner. "I wanted to create something that was urban ... something that we see in a lot of marginalized neighborhoods, like the surveillance camera," Villa told NBC Chicago. The work was commissioned as part of a local art festival and appeared on private property, on a wall owned by a relative of a festival organizer, Chicago Public Radio reports. Balcer told Chicago Public Radio that he had the city's graffiti blasters paint over the mural because the building owner lacked the proper permits and he had received complaints, including from police, about potentially "anti-police" or gang-related imagery. A spokesman for the city's buildings department told Chicago Public Radio's Rob Wildeboer that a permit is not required "for a mural on the side of a private building as long as it's not an advertisement and as long as the property owner has given their permission." Watch the mural being painted over: View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video . Watch an interview with the artist: View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video . Look at before and after photos on the WBEZ blog .
 
MICHELLE OBAMA COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: UC Merced (VIDEO, FULL TEXT) Top
Scroll down for full video and text Making her debut as a commencement speaker before a crowd of 12,000 on Saturday, FIrst Lady Michelle Obama praised graduates at the University of California, Merced, the state's smallest, youngest public university. She urged the 493 members of the school's first full graduating class to give back to their communities: "Many of you may be considering leaving town with your diploma in hand, and it wouldn't be unreasonable," she said. "By using what you've learned here you can shorten the path perhaps for kids who may not see a path at all. I was once one of those kids." "Remember that you are blessed -- remember that in exchange for those blessings you must give something back," Obama told the crowd. "You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future." The young school had worked hard to court Obama as a speaker, writing letters to her office, friends and family, and even starting a "Dear Michelle" Facebook campaign that sent 900 Valentine's Day cards to her. Watch full video of the speech: Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Read the full transcript of the speech: Thank you. Thank you so much, Class of 2009. (Applause.) All I can say is wow, and good afternoon, everyone. I am so proud of these graduates. We have to just give them one big round of applause before I start. This is just an amazing day. (Applause.) I want to thank Dick for that lovely introduction. He makes for a good companion when you have to go to an inauguration. (Laughter.) So I'm glad he could be here with me today. I appreciate all that he has done to make this day so very special. I want to acknowledge a few other people before I begin: Congressman Jerry McNerney, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Attorney General Jerry Brown, and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. I want to thank you all for your leadership and for being an example of what a life in public service can mean to us all. And of course I have to thank Chancellor Kang for this incredible welcome, and as well as President Yudof and Provost Keith Alley for all that they've done to help make this event just such a wonderful day for us all. And to the graduates and their families and the entire community of Merced, I am so pleased, so thrilled, so honored to be here with all of you today. (Applause.) Now, I know we've got a lot of national press out there, and a few people may be wondering why did I choose the University of California-Merced to deliver my first commencement speech as First Lady. (Applause.) Well, let me tell you something, the answer is simple: You inspired me, you touched me. (Applause.) You know, there are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true. And you did just that. Your perseverance and creativity were on full display in your efforts to bring me here to Merced for this wonderful occasion. (Applause.) So let me tell you what you did. If you don't know, parents, because some of you were involved, my office received thousands of letters and, of course, Valentines cards from students; each and every one of them so filled with hope and enthusiasm. It moved not just me but my entire staff. They came up to me and said, "Michelle, you have to do this." (Laughter.) "You have to go here!" (Applause.) They were all terrific. Like the one from Christopher Casuga that read, "Dear Mrs. Obama -- Please come to UC Merced's Commencement. We could really use the publicity." (Laughter.) That really touched me. Or then there was one from Jim Greenwood who wrote not on his behalf but on behalf of his wife and the mother of his two children, who is graduating with us today. (Applause.) And then there was the one from Andrea Mercado. I think this was one of my favorites. Andrea said that the role of First Lady is -- and I quote -- "the balance between politics and sanity." (Laughter.) Thank you, Andrea, for that vote of confidence. (Laughter.) I received letters from everyone connected to this university -- not just students, but they came from parents, and grandparents, and cousins, and aunts, and uncles, and neighbors, and friends, all of them telling me about how hard you all have worked and how important this day is for you and for the entire Merced community. And then there's that beautiful video, the "We Believe" video. Well, let me tell you, it worked, because I'm here! (Applause.) And I want to thank in particular Sam Fong and Yaasha Sabba and all of the students who launched the "Dear Michelle" campaign. (Applause.) I am honored by your efforts and happy to be with you to celebrate this important milestone. But I understand that this type of community-based letter writing campaign isn't unique to me. This community, this Merced community, employed the same strategy to help get the University of California to build the new campus here in Merced. (Applause.) Every school kid in the entire county, I understand, sent a postcard to the UC Board of Regents in order to convince them to select Merced, and I just love the fact that some of the graduates sitting this audience today participating were involved in that campaign, as well, and then they used the same strategy to get me here. That is amazing. And what it demonstrates is the power of many voices coming together to make something wonderful happen. And I'm telling you, next year's graduation speaker better watch out, because Merced students know how to get what they want. (Laughter and applause.) This type of activism and optimism speaks volumes about the students here, the faculty, the staff, but also about the character and history of Merced -- a town built by laborers and immigrants from all over the world: early settlers who came here as pioneers and trailblazers in the late 1800s as part of the Gold Rush and built the churches and businesses and schools that exist; African Americans who escaped slavery and the racism of the South to work on the railways as truck drivers up and down Route 99; Mexican Americans who traveled north to find work on the farms and have since become the backbone of our agricultural industry -- (applause); Asian Americans who arrived in San Francisco and have slowly branched out to become a part of the community in the San Joaquin Valley. (Applause.) Merced's make-up may have changed over the years, but its values and character have not -- long, hot days filled with hard work by generations of men and women of all races who wanted an opportunity to build a better life for their children and their grandchildren; hardworking folks who believed that access to a good education would be their building blocks to a brighter future. You know, I grew up in one of those communities with similar values. Like Merced, the South Side of Chicago is a community where people struggled financially, but worked hard, looked out for each other and rallied around their children. My father was a blue-collar worker, as you all know. My mother stayed at home to raise me and my brother. We were the first to graduate from college in our immediate family. (Applause.) I know that many of you out here are also the first in your families to achieve that distinction, as well. (Applause.) And as you know, being the first is often a big responsibility, particularly in a community that, like many others around our country at the moment, is struggling to cope with record high unemployment and foreclosure rates; a community where families are a single paycheck or an emergency room visit away from homelessness. And with jobs scarce, many of you may be considering leaving town with your diploma in hand. And it wouldn't be unreasonable. For those of you who come from communities facing similar economic hardships, you may also be wondering how you'll build decent lives for yourselves if you choose to return to those communities. But I would encourage you to call upon the same hope and hard work that brought you to this day. Call upon that optimism and tenacity that built the University of California at Merced to invest in the future of Merced in your own home towns all across this country. By using what you have learned here, you can shorten the path perhaps for kids who may not see a path at all. And I was once one of those kids. Most of you were once one of those kids. I grew up just a few miles from the University of Chicago in my hometown. The university, like most institutions, was a major cultural, economic institution in my neighborhood. My mother even worked as a secretary there for several years. Yet that university never played a meaningful role in my academic development. The institution made no effort to reach out to me -- a bright and promising student in their midst -- and I had no reason to believe there was a place for me there. Therefore, when it came time for me to apply to college, I never for one second considered the university in my own backyard as a viable option. And as fate would have it, I ultimately went on and accepted a position in student affairs at the University of Chicago more than a decade later. What I found was that working within the institution gave me the opportunity to express my concerns about how little role the university plays in the life of its neighbors. I wanted desperately to be involved in helping to break down the barriers that existed between the campus and the community. And in less than a year, through that position, I worked with others to build the university's first Office of Community Service. And today, the office continues to provide students with opportunities to help reshape relationships between the university and its surrounding community. Students there today are volunteering in local elementary schools, serving as mentors at high schools, organizing neighborhood watches, and worshiping in local churches. But you know a little something about working with your community here, don't you, Merced? UC Merced, its faculty and its students seem to already have a handle on this need and it speaks once again to the character of this community. As I learned more about what you have done, I am so impressed with how the students, faculty and the community are collaborating to ensure that every child in this community understands there is a place for them at this big beautiful university if they study hard and stay out of trouble. For example, there is Kevin Mitchell, a professor in the School of Natural Science, who studies chaos, of all things. He's coordinating a program to bring physicists into local elementary and high schools to help open the eyes of students to the possibility of careers in science. Then there is Claudia Zepeda, a junior psychology major, who is mentoring students from her high school here. The first in her family to attend college, Claudia works with the Westside Initiative for Leaders, an organization that helps prepare disadvantaged students for college. And because of her help, 10 students from her high school will attend UC Merced this coming fall. That is amazing. (Applause.) And then there are local leaders like police officer, Nick Navarette -- (applause) -- who coordinates a program that brings about 60 UC Merced students to local elementary schools each week to mentor students from poorer neighborhoods. Nick then brings kids to campus regularly so that they can do something special; see what it's like to be on a college campus, and begin to dream. And then there is my friend and former law school professor, Charles Ogletree, a product of the Merced public schools. (Applause.) Now, he is an example of how you can bring your skills back. His ambitions took him far away from home, but he has never forgotten where he came from. Each year, with his help, Merced's high schools are able to hand out scholarships, not just for the best and the brightest students, but also for many students who are just stuck in poverty and simply need a hand up to compete. So the faculty, the students, local leaders, Merced alumni, everyone here is doing their part to help the children of Merced realize that access to a quality education is available to them as long as they work hard, study hard and apply themselves. It is this kind of commitment that we're going to need in this nation to put this country back on a path where every child expects to succeed and where every child has the tools that they need to achieve their dreams. That's what we're aiming for. (Applause.) And we're going to need all of you, graduates, this generation, we need you to lead the way. Now, let me tell you, careers focused on lifting up our communities -- whether it's helping transform troubled schools or creating after-school programs or training workers for green jobs -- these careers are not always obvious, but today they are necessary. Solutions to our nation's most challenging social problems are not going to come from Washington alone. Real innovation often starts with individuals who apply themselves to solve a problem right in their own community. That's where the best ideas come from. And some pretty incredible social innovations have been launched by young people all across this world. Teach for America in this country is a great example. It was created by Wendy Kopp as a part of her undergraduate senior thesis in 1989. And now, as a result of her work then, more than 6,200 corps members are teaching in our country's neediest communities, reaching approximately 400,000 students. And then there's Van Jones, who recently joined the Obama administration, a special adviser to the President on green jobs. Van started out as a grassroots organizer and became an advocate and a creator of "green collar" jobs -- jobs that are not only good for the environment, but also provide good wages and career advancement for both skilled and unskilled workers; jobs similar to the ones being created right here at UC Merced as this green campus continues to grow. And then one of my heroes, Geoffrey Canada, grew up in the South Bronx. After graduating from Bowdoin and getting his masters at Harvard, he returned to New York City and used his education to ensure that the next generation would have a chance at the same opportunity. Geoffrey's Harlem Children's Zone is a nationally recognized program that covers 100 blocks and reaches nearly 10,000 children with a variety of social services to ensure that all kids are prepared to get a good education. And in an effort to invest in and encourage
 
Michael Giltz: Cannes 2009 Day Four: Finally, A Great Film! Top
Over the weekend, I'll just post reviews. Come Monday, I'll offer up some interviews and tidbits, so keep checking out the Entertainment page. A PROPHET -- **** (OUT OF FOUR) A sigh of relief. Sometimes at Cannes, it can take days and days to see even a halfway decent film. You despair of liking anything. Not so this year. The Opening Night film was the delightful Up . And Thursday and Friday offered a range of films that appealed to different people in one way or another. But no more caveats: this morning was the premiere of Un Prophete and it was received with a rush of enthusiastic applause by the critics. (By the way, when people say a film was greeted with a standing ovation at Cannes, they're referring to the evening performance for invited guests and the stars where a standing ovation is almost obligatory. It's the morning screening for the critics where people will applaud and boo with gusto and that's the reception that matters.) It's a familiar story, but of course one could say that about virtually any film. But when a film is specific and true, when its characters come alive, it doesn't matter if you're watching boy meets girl or a mother fighting to keep her family together or a triumph over adversity. When it's done well, it becomes fresh all over again. In this case, it's the story of a harmless young man sent to prison for some unknown crime. Within minutes, it seems, he's entered a horror zone where men attack and beat him with impunity. Soon, one of the strong men of the prison -- the Corsican leader Cesar (Niels Arestrup) -- is demanding our hero Malik (Tahir Rahim) kill another prisoner slated to testify in court. Malik is a mutt, of sorts, and can pass between many groups but is despised by all. The Muslims see him as Corsican, the Corsicans see him as a dirty Arab, the gypsies see him as weak, the guards don't see him at all and when he's beaten there is no one to help. Will Malik commit the murder? Will he become hardened and cruel or get eaten alive or somehow survive but maintain his humanity? That's the question that drives this engrossing and terrific film. We know Malik is smart. He takes advantage of the prison school and learns how to read and write; he picks up Corsican just by listening to the men talk. And when he peeks into the Muslim prayer service, we wonder: is Malik being drawn to faith or just trying to make inroads on another group that might be able to protect him? Co-writer and director Jacques Audiard has made some very good films this decade. Read My Lips was a fun thriller about a deaf woman partnering with her lover to pull off a crime. The Beat That My Heart Skipped was an unlikely remake of the cult film Fingers by James Toback that surpassed the original. But this film is a major leap forward. It's visually gripping, with shadowy passages interspersed throughout the film where all we see is a fuzzy glimpse of what is happening or might be happening soon. (Don't forget the title of the film is "A Prophet.") And the score is sparely used and very effective: at key moments, the theme overwhelms the action and transports Malik from a man going about his furtive business to a person taking charge of his destiny. Both lead actors are exceptional and I'm certain it will snag at least one major award. Perhaps it is this year's Gomorrah , a crime film that was embraced by critics but didn't quite break out in the US. But however this fares commercially, you don't want to miss it. JAFFA -- ** (out of four) A melodramatic Israeli film with some nicely restrained acting by two lovers surrounded by scenery chewing and a cheap, intrusive score. The set-up has potential. An Israeli family owns a garage where the two main mechanics are Arabs (perhaps Palestinians?) good at their jobs. Unfortunately, they're overseen by the tiresome owner's son who can't be bothered to do any work but makes everyone else's lives miserable. (His own mother calls him a plague.) What's immediately apparent is that the daughter is in love with the sweet-faced, younger Arab mechanic and they're planning to elope right away (she's pregnant). A tragic accident/crime ensues and everyone is miserable from then on. Frankly, it's hard to take seriously a film where a young woman ages almost a decade -- and suddenly has a 9 year old daughter to prove it -- but looks exactly the same. MOTHER -- ** 1/2 (out of four) Bong Joon Ho's The Host -- the best monster movie in years -- was so much fun I can't help being a bit let down by his new film, even though it has merit. A mentally challenged young man is railroaded by the police into confessing to the murder of a high school girl that has shocked the community. He was seen in the area where the body was found, drinking and flirting with another high school girl just hours earlier. Finding a golf ball with his name on it near the body didn't help his case either. What's to investigate? But the young man's determined mother wants to clear his name. She starts by hiring the most expensive attorney in town but he's too dismissive. So Mother stars investigating on her own, discovering that the murdered girl was famously promiscuous and had a cell phone with pictures of all the men that slept with her. Wouldn't any loving mother hide in the homes of thugs to get evidence, hire people to beat up potential witnesses and get information or do just about anything to free her son? Both the mother and her son are well-acted, but after the fifth or so shocking revelation, the story becomes both more far fetched and more predictable. That doesn't take away from the central appeal of the revenge/justice engine that drives the film. But it's ultimately more of a melodrama than a gripping potrayal of what love can drive people to do. SAMSON & DELILAH -- *** (out of four) One of my most anticipated films of the fest isn't a home run but it's unquestionably an accomplished debut and the start of a promising career for director/writer/editor/cinematographer/composer and for all I know caterer Warwick Thornton. This Australian talent has crafted an almost silent film about two young people who fall in love -- one warily and one guilelessly. Samson is a huffer (a kid addicted to breathing in toxic fumes from paint or gasoline or anything else that can get you high); he's got a brother in a band who plays the same damn song with his mates over and over again. Delilah is a capable girl taking care of her aged grandmother while they craft lovely art sold far from their aboriginal home for a lot more money than they are paid. Scene after scene unfolds with virtually no dialogue, though no big deal is made about this and it's done so artfully you won't think much of it until you're halfway through the film and realized how little dialogue is actually spoken. Samson brings his bedroll over to Delilah's home. She tosses it over the fence. He puts it back over the fence. She tosses it out again. He wears her down and sleeps by the fire far from where she rests. But in the morning his bedroll is right next to hers. She tosses it onto the fire. It doesn't stop him. The sweet, almost comic tone of the film slips away when Delilah's grandmother dies and a burst of violence sends them far from their aboriginal community into town where we realize how outcast they truly are. If they walk into a supermarket, the guards follow them around suspiciously. Even walking down the road they are targets for disdain and violence. Numerous tragic turns -- including one major "cheat" by the film; that is, a misleading plot twist where we are denied information to create undue suspense -- give this once romantic tale a very sober, dispiriting tone. But the leads are winning and the film is beautifully shot. Not an image is wasted or out of place in this confident, fine film. And who knew that aboriginal convicts are big fans of country and western singer Charley Pride? You learn something new every day. KINATAY -- * 1/2 (out of four) No normal person would enjoy Kinatay , a slight, unremarkable movie about a young police officer in training dragooned against his will into the horrific killing and dismembering of a stripper by his fellow cops. And yet, in the context of a film festival, I can find myself saying, "Yes, of course, it was better than his last film Serbis ." (Low bar. Really low bar.) Or something like, "And yes, now that you mention it, I DID find a bit of tension out of the 45 minutes devoted to a simple car ride from one city to another shot in murky darkness and with minimal dialogue." It is indeed more coherent than Brillante Mendoza's earlier work. The storytelling was more vigorous and focused before it devolved into one simple action told at ponderous length. And as Mendoza overcomes the countless obstacles to a vibrant film community in the Phillipines, it makes sense that smart programmers would take notice of his movies and continued development as an artist. But trust me, you don't want to see it. More on France
 
Taking On Craigslist Good Politics For Elected Officials Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- Law enforcement officials who successfully pressured Craigslist to remove an erotic services category they say had become little more than an Internet brothel are touting it as simply good public policy. But it wasn't bad politics, either. Credit was quickly claimed by officials ranging from the county sheriff whose jurisdiction includes Chicago to the attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois and New York - all of whom are likely to sock it away in their political storehouses. "They could use this in TV advertising when they run for re-election," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "It's a political winner; there is literally no downside. Most voters would applaud and those who don't won't say a peep." Law enforcers who got involved in the high-profile fight against Craigslist insisted they did so because the site's erotic services ads sometimes involved children and human trafficking. "These are horrible crimes and we need to take them seriously as a society," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is considering a run for governor next year, said while skirting a question about whether the issue would help her politically. When Craigslist said this week it would voluntarily replace its "erotic services " category with a fee-based "adult services" category and monitor postings before they appeared online, Madigan told a Chicago news conference the company's decision came a week after she and attorneys general Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Chris Koster of Missouri sent Craigslist an ultimatum: police the site or take it down. Just a few blocks away, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart - who sued Craigslist in March, not long after making national headlines for refusing to evict tenants from foreclosed rental properties - said it was his federal lawsuit that prompted action. The suit had its first hearing Wednesday. Many believe the former prosecutor and state representative, recently named one of Time magazine's most influential people, will run for attorney general. "This was not a stunt, this was not to squeeze money out of people; this was to do the right thing," said Dart, emphasizing that he's been fighting Craigslist for 2 1/2 years. But he panned as too weak a monitoring agreement with Craigslist brokered by Blumenthal in November on behalf of 40 attorneys general. "I think ... it is clear that but for our lawsuit and the pressure we brought ... that is what brought this to conclusion," said Dart, who has said he's happy as sheriff but is keeping his options open. And New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, believed to be preparing for the governor's race next year, claimed the company acted only because his office informed Craigslist that a criminal prostitution probe had implicated the site. Craigslist had been facing increasing scrutiny after a Boston man was charged last month with killing a masseuse he met on the site. The site agreed to remove its erotic services section despite its contention that it has been unfairly singled out. Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Springfield, said he believes the concern by law enforcement officials was legitimate and sincere, but "sometimes you can have good policy and good politics." "It's also the sort of thing that gets you a broad reputation," Redfield noted. "It builds up name recognition to go after a bunch of issues that can get you favorable press." Madigan has signed on to other high-profile lawsuits in the past, including against Countrywide, the lender widely blamed for the subprime mortgage crisis. But she's not the only one. Connecticut's media-savvy Blumenthal has made his career taking on well-known causes such as tobacco companies, Microsoft, HMOs, polluters, utilities and corporate cheats. Blumenthal said he wants to use his high-profile soap box to bring attention to prostitution. "As a public official, I think I have a public responsibility to be vocal and vociferous on threats to public safety where citizens can help fight it, help fight the problem," he said Wednesday. He has turned down opportunities to run for governor in the past, but has never ruled it out. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer earned the nickname "Sheriff of Wall Street" during his two terms as attorney general for going after financial corruption, including pursuing now-defunct insurance giant American International Group - and was elected governor with a record share of the vote in 2006. Some speculated he might run for president before he resigned in disgrace after he was caught soliciting high-priced prostitutes. Now Cuomo has taken up the mantel against AIG, Craigslist and other causes, and appears ready to leverage it for his benefit. He consistently ranks well in polls of potential gubernatorial candidates. Attorneys general, especially, have a pulpit from which they can make a name for themselves without looking like just another politician, analysts say. "I've spoken to the National Association of Attorneys General and said, 'It's good to be here at the National Association of Aspiring Governors,'" Sabato said. "They all laugh at it." --- Associated Press Writers Deanna Bellandi in Chicago and Katie Nelson in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this story. -ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Renzo Piano Designed Modern Wing Opens At Art Institute Top
CHICAGO — Light, bright and definitely pricey _ the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago is a triumph for Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano. In a single stroke, the 264,000-square-foot wing, which opens Saturday, turns Chicago's art museum into the nation's second-largest and opens up the previously windowless fortress of culture to the sky and the city. "This is the largest expansion and addition in the Art Institute's history," said museum president and director James Cuno. The wing, which houses the museum's modern art collection, cost $300 million, on top of $110 million for related improvements and upkeep. Cuno recently announced that adult admission to the museum would rise from $12 to $18, making it one of the most expensive art museums in the country, but Chicago Park District voted Wednesday to cut the fee to $16. It's a pretty price to pay, but Piano's work may be worth it. He has covered the wing with a "flying carpet" of aluminum blades, calibrated for Chicago's latitude, allowing only northern light to shine through skylights forming the three-floor wing's roof. Cuno has estimated that the light from outside should reduce the electrical consumption of the new wing to half that of the largely windowless main building. The space and chronological arrangement of works allow visitors to see the bewildering array of 20th century artistic schools in their historical context and gain clue to their interrelations. The top-floor galleries begin and end with works by Pablo Picasso, demonstrating the steady march toward increasing abstraction by such artists as Piet Mondrian and Constantin Brancusi. The added space also allows display of more of the museum's surrealist collection, some of which were kept in storage. The second floor is devoted to European and American art from 1950 to the present, including a room devoted to the color field paintings of Ellsworth Kelly. In the Gerhardt Richter room, location of the German painter's pieces play on Piano's theme of ambient lighting, with Richter's all-gray works facing away from windows and his color panels receiving outdoor light obliquely. The wing's windows also will likely be a major draw since they frame Millennium Park and its Frank Gehry-designed music pavilion and the city's looming skyline. The wing's third floor connects to the park through a cantilevered bridge, which stretches across Monroe Street. The first floor houses a grand entrance, new photography and temporary exhibition galleries, an educational center, offices, a high-end restaurant, and a new gift shop. Despite the amenities, some critics have pointed out that only 65,000 square feet of the Modern Wing has been devoted to new gallery space. The Art Institute will offer free admission Saturday through May 22. It also plans to increase the number of its free-admission days and evenings. ___ On the Net: http://www.artic.edu
 
Obama Newsweek Interview: Discusses Dick Cheney And Star Trek Top
In a 30-minute interview aboard Air Force One en route from Washington to Phoenix last Wednesday, President Obama talked with NEWSWEEK's Jon Meacham about Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Dick Cheney--and Star Trek. Edited excerpts:
 
Scrutiny Promised For Illinois' Supermax Prison Top
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Tamms Correctional Center's first warden made no apologies for christening the tough southwest Illinois prison a home for a "very unhappy inmate population." Critics wasted no time dubbing it an inhumane endeavor. Eleven years later, the debate over the lockup where the worst offenders spend 23 hours a day in their cells remains unchanged, but Gov. Pat Quinn expects a newly minted Department of Corrections chief to take a long look at the super maximum-security prison where inmates are meant to serve hard time. Quinn on Thursday tapped Michael Randle, second in command of Ohio's prison system, as Illinois' new department head. The Chicago-born Randle won't start his new job until next month, but Quinn already has made clear one assignment will be to examine prisoner treatment at Tamms. "I'm going to ask Director Randle to meet with all of those who are concerned about the issue of Tamms in deep southern Illinois in Alexander County," Quinn said. "It is an issue we have to listen to everyone on, but Director Randle will make the final decision on what is best and recommend that to me." Those who question the humaneness of typically giving Tamms' populace no more than an hour a day outside 7-by-12-foot cells square off against the prison's backers who call the segregation essential to safely containing the most dangerous of a 45,500-inmate, 28-prison state system. "We have a very unhappy inmate population," Tamms' first warden, George Welborn, proudly declared in 1998. State Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Democrat whose district includes the prison and its 242 inmates in long-suffering Alexander County, argued this week that Tamms "doesn't have to be messed with." "Those people have earned their way to Tamms - when they were around people, they murdered them, they raped them," Phelps said. Opponents say Tamms warehouses mentally ill inmates and isolates others for so long that they develop psychological issues. One state lawmaker has introduced legislation to limit terms at Tamms to one year in most cases, bar seriously mentally ill inmates from being sent to Tamms and make it more difficult to keep inmates there indefinitely. Amnesty International, a leading human rights organization, recently has found Tamms "may breach international standards for humane treatment" and the prison has drawn numerous lawsuits alleging the inmate mistreatment. "I can tell you there is concern when it comes to mental health and how you treat offenders in certain levels of confinement," Randle said this week. "The issue of Tamms as it relates to mental health is something I would have to look at once I get there. If, in fact, there are serious concerns about that, then I would make the appropriate recommendations to the governor for changes." State figures show Illinois has sent more than 540 prisoners to Tamms in 11 years, amounting to just .14 of 1 percent of the people who have gone to Illinois prisons in that time. But much of the current attention has focused on long-term inmates - 156 who've been there at least eight years, 69 of them for more than a decade. "We're not trying to close Tamms," said State Rep. Rep. Julie Hamos, the suburban Chicago Democrat behind the legislative push to change the prison, including allowing an inmate to earn increasingly less-isolated conditions for good behavior. "To leave them in that setting 10 years or longer is inhumane, in my estimate, and a human rights violation. It just cannot be condoned." Phelps counters that he's seen nothing unfair or inhumane during his handful of visits to Tamms, which is located the identically named community he says "is dying on the vine" economically and doesn't need anything happening to the prison or its jobs. The prison has 275 employees, down more than 100 from just six years ago. "I've heard the argument that the inmates are in confinement 23 hours a day and need to be around more people. When I heard that, I was beside myself," Phelps fumed. Hamos' legislation, he adds, "is talking about trying to make some of the worst criminals better. But some of them there don't care. They're never going to behave." Corrections department spokesman Derek Schnapp says the state would "like to have no inmates at Tamms, but we feel Tamms has a purpose." Backers of the prison have legal precedent on their side. In an Ohio case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found in 2005 that the state's "first obligation must be to ensure the safety of guards and prison personnel, the public and prisoners themselves." Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, found "prolonged confinement in supermax may be the state's only option for control of some inmates," including those assigned to the Ohio prison built in 1998 after a deadly inmate riot five years earlier at a state prison. "Courts must give substantial deference to prison management decisions" against the "brutal reality of prison gangs," Kennedy added. Still, the justices expressed some concerns about the harsh conditions, with Kennedy writing that inmates "are deprived of almost any environmental or sensory stimuli and of almost all human contact." Lights were always kept on in the cells, he said, and the treatment was more harsh than that of death row inmates. The court did not address the issue of whether the detentions are unconstitutionally cruel. -ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Lee Stranahan: WATCH: The New Republican Party Presents "Gay Don't Pay!" Top
The Republicans have wasted no time in promoting Michael Steele's recent statement that gay marriage is a threat to small business. More on Miss California
 
Geoffrey Dunn: Stimulus Interruptus: Palin's Lies to Nowhere About Obama's Recovery Package Top
As the clock ticks down on Sarah Palin and her final response to President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, she has found herself painted into a shrinking political corner in which she finds herself at odds with just about every interest group in Alaska--Democrats and Republicans alike, young and old, Native Alaskans and several civic groups like the Alaska Municipal League. Palin has until May 25 to sign or veto a bill approving the funds. If she vetoes the $930.7 million stimulus package, or any portion of it, she will risk further angering Alaska constituents, as her approval numbers have been in serious freefall since she returned from the campaign trail last November. If she votes to accept the entire package, it will be viewed as a final cave-in to her original opposition and will carve away her support among the conservative base in the national Republican Party. Either way, it's a no-win proposition that she orchestrated for herself in January when she pandered to Rush Limbaugh & Co. by slamming Obama's stimulus proposal. She called it "an unsustainable, debt-ridden package of funds." At one point she likened it to "a bribe." A smart poker player might have held her cards closer to the vest and let the hand unfold. Her play was a loser from the first draw. Three months ago, Palin announced on her Facebook page--yes, her Facebook page --right below her pitch for SarahPAC, that she had "serious concerns" with Obama's stimulus package. It's a given that a stimulus package is needed and will happen. With guaranteed spending on the table, I am arguing for needed construction projects and tax breaks that will truly stimulate the economy and create jobs, and against increased federal programs that will become a state's unfunded mandate to continue funding for generations. Huh? Palin's position put her in the same ring with other gubernatorial clown-acts gathering for the 2012 Republican circus, including Bobby Jindal, Mark Sanford and Rick Perry. But it also placed her in direct conflict with several Republican and independent allies in Alaska facing the cold, hard realities of an economic recession. Federal projections are that the stimulus would "create or save" 8,700 jobs in the Last Frontier over the next two years--this in a state with a work force of only 300,000 and a 9.3 percent unemployment rate. Many in Alaska saw Palin's stance for what it was--calculated political posturing purely for her own personal benefit. "I'm worried the governor is taking this sort of national political stance," said Anchorage Democratic legislator Les Gara, "which is that she's going to be the opposite of Barack Obama on everything." In April, Palin held one of her bizarre, unscripted news conferences (where her body language screamed that she would rather be somewhere else), and as the delightful Alaska blog Mudflats reported , Palin spouted the same economic gobbledygook that she introduced to the American electorate during her infamous interview with Katie Couric: We're gonna consider how to manage the public's expectation desiring the lawmakers and the public acknowledge these are short-term temporary funds that should not lead to government growth two years from now when the dollars are gone, and we will...we will consider on a case by case basis whether the dollars need to be applied for or the dollars that are in the budget today could or should be vetoed. It's going to be a long process still in deciding what to do with the dollars. Yes, folks, that is a direct quote. Palin indicated that she was initially going to veto more than 30 percent--or $288 million--of the stimulus package. Her reasoning was that it "would grow government" and leave the State of Alaska holding the bag for expanded programs two years down the line when the funds ran out. She then floated a proposal to accept the stimulus funding if the legislature agreed to cut state spending, primarily for education, and use the federal money instead--a proposal that was summarily rejected by the Republican leadership in the legislature. And when push came to shove to fight the stimulus, Palin was nowhere to be seen. The Alaska legislature held 20 public hearings on the recovery bill and discovered that the strings Palin and her economic advisers claimed were attached to the funding were nonexistent. There were no "unfunded mandates." Palin also bailed on a scheduled meeting with state lawmakers, and then blamed them for the cancellation, leading Gary Stevens, the state's Republican Senate President, to essentially call Palin a liar. He vehemently characterized Palin's account of events surrounding the cancellation as "absolutely false." Indeed he was so emphatic about it that he used the phrase "absolutely false" twice. In the end, Palin and her administration exerted zero influence during the legislative debates on the stimulus, and when the final vote came to endorse acceptance (it was nearly unanimous), Palin had hightailed it for Indiana, preaching right-to-life homilies to those already converted. Exerting political leadership is clearly not her forte. Then she went into flip-flop mode and rather strikingly resembled a freshly-caught salmon on the deck of an Alaskan trawler. "I can't predict how much or what funds legislators might add to my request, and we haven't heard all the public testimony yet," Palin backtracked. "To say now what might happen with an unknown bill would be premature." Palin has continued to slide down the slippery slope of hypocrisy. Her last bastion of opposition to the stimulus package is $28.6 million in State Energy Program funding. Palin claims that "Alaska's vast expanse and differing conditions are not conducive to a federally mandated, universal energy code" and that "one size does not fit all." It's yet another Palin twist of the truth. This past week, two state senators--Anchorage Republican Lesil McGuire and Anchorage Democrat Bill Wielechowski--have formally confronted Palin on her position. So has freshman U.S. Senator Mark Begich (the former Democratic mayor of Anchorage) and a host of other community activists from all across the political spectrum. Several have pointed out that Palin has exaggerated and distorted the federal requirements attached to the energy funding, noting that virtually all Alaska municipal codes already meet federal guidelines and that rural communities with populations of less than 2,500 are exempt. Wielechowski and McGuire asserted in a letter to Palin that "Alaska can meet the requirements for receipt of $28.6 million in State Energy Program stimulus funds through adoption of local energy standards, rather than a statewide energy code." All 49 other states have accepted the funds. So much for Palin's argument of "one size" needing to fit all. It's yet another of her lies to nowhere. As of this weekend, Palin has yet to announce how she intends to play out her hand. Either way she'll be a loser. If she sticks to her guns and declines the energy stimulus, it will unleash an avalanche of anger throughout the state that will make her bid for re-election as governor next year all the more problematic. If she buckles, it will be another case of a Palin flip-flop--this time saying "no thanks, but thanks" to federal funding. Stay tuned. Award-winning investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker Geoffrey Dunn is at work on a book about Sarah Palin and her role in American politics, to be published by Macmillan/St. Martin's in 2010. More on Rick Perry
 
Alison Stein Wellner: France Hosts a Wine & Cheese Party -- In Your House Top
The French government is throwing a cocktail party. Is your place available? It'll be on June 4th, for an event called Apéritif à la Française, aimed at showing the world that French food and culture and especially its economically important exports, wine and cheese, are not elitist. The event will take place in 37 cities simultaneously, sort of like an Earth Hour, but with electricity, and cocktails, and will involve a number of events. In the United States, this includes 1,000 evening parties held in private homes. You sign up in advance, and if you are selected, you will receive: a full Apéritif kit (with balloons, decorations, a corkscrew, an apron, a cheese tray, an "Acoustic France" music CD, decorative magnets and gift certificates for French food products that can be used on the two partner e-commerce sites) and the "How to host your own French Cocktail Hour" booklet. This according to Sopexa , the company hired by the French government to run the event. You'll then have to blog about your party, take photos and answer questions about the products you sampled. (The other catch is that the music CD includes tunes crooned by Carla Bruni.) I learned about this via a Wall Street Journal article by Max Colchester, which contains further helpful info: -This is costing the French about $2.1 million, the government is kicking in 60%, with private corporate dollars funding the rest. -"Some people are terrorized by French gastronomy, especially French wine," says Marie-Noëlle Guerin, head of external relations at Sopexa, And finally: -The organizers chose some of France's less-expensive sparkling white wines, instead of Champagne, and ruled out pungent cheeses as being "too scary" for Americans. Their choices include goat's cheese and comté. I'm puzzled by this idea of an American consumer that is afraid -- even terrified -- by French cheese and wine, and even more amused by this idea that the American palate is uniformly bland. Yes, sure,we have more than our share of flavorless frozen dinners here, and, having just returned from two weeks in Europe, I would agree that delicious, high quality food is more widespread in Europe than it is here -- we have a lot of crappy food, and an undisputed emphasis on quantity over quality. But we also have a lot of really great food too, you just need to wade through a lot of McKingFriedKitchen to get to it. In fact, I'd say given the country's growing diversity, our palate is more used to spicy, hot, bold flavors than what you'd typically find across the pond. So if France is really going to spend $2 million (in these economic times!) trying to convince Americans to buy imported French cheese and wine, then why not go for broke and let this sample of people (clearly intended to be ambassadors of a kind) have the really good stuff, the really big flavors of France? It's not like we don't have homegrown sparkling wine and mild cheese. In fact, we have our own big robust wines and stinky cheese! And the people who like it, and more importantly, may wish to buy it, really aren't afraid of cheese. Or of France. In fact, if they have any anxiety about it, it will probably be because they're buying something from far away when there are more carbon-footprint friendly local alternatives. So my unsolicited advice to France (a country that I love, and its foodstuffs that I love even more): it's really time to update your impression of the American palate. Give us the good stuff. We are not afraid. More on France
 
Geoffrey Miller, Gitmo General, Told Iraq WMD Search Team To Torture Top
It's one thing if, as former Vice President Dick Cheney keeps saying, the United States brutally interrogated people to keep our kids safe from another strike by Osama bin Laden. If folks got tortured to provide a rationale for going to war with Iraq, though, that's a whole different story.
 
Moscow Gay Rights Protest: 40 Demonstrators Arrested Top
MOSCOW - Russian police arrested about 40 people at a gay rights protest Saturday just hours before the Eurovision Song Contest final was to start in Moscow. Protest organisers called for musicians to show solidarity by boycotting the contest, which Russia is hosting for the first time this year.
 
Waylon Lewis: Top 10 Yoga Twitter Tweeters (Who You Should Follow) Top
I've only been on Twitter for say five months...and it took me the first few months--until I started using Tweetdeck (advice and link here)-- to get Twitter. For those of you who are still holding back from this latest greatest fastest virtual communications tool, I say: go for it. Take the plunge. If I offered you a free way to communicate with your community in real-time, you wouldn't say 'No.' That's all Twitter is. Forget the hype--especially if you're a local retail or service-focused business. Twitter helps me network, share my work, learn about cool news, local specials and activities. I just got named a Top Ten Green Tweeter Worth Following--a nice honor that inspired me to write the below Top Ten Yoga Tweeters, because, after all, we here @elephantjournal don't just focus on Green, or any one thing for that matter--we focus on anything that "can help you to live a good life that also happens to be good for others, and our planet." Anyways: favorite useful yoga-savvy tweeters...follow the below twitstars, and if you feel you ought to be followed, or if I forgot one of your favorite yoga tweeters , just add the Twitter id (@blanketyblank) in the Comments section in the bottom. I get enough comments on one in particular, I'll add you to the Top 10 list (and kick one of the other worthies out). 0. Yours truly, @elephantjournal , focuses on "the mindful life" generally. So while we're not a dedicated top yoga tweeter , we do offer some fun, interesting interviews, articles...most recently an interview at our Walk the Talk Show with John Friend of Anusara , an article about Yoga for Basketball , and a review of a yoga DVD for plus size yogis and yoginis . Okay, on your mats, get set, breathe... ... 1. @yogadork has got to be number one--they're fun, personal, care and know about yoga. 2. Yogadork likes @YogaHeals 3. I like @yoga_journal , obvious but strong twitterer. 4. @davekennedy he's a great mensch, a dedicated yogi behind prAna 5. @yogabear 6. @lotuspad 7. @presentjoyoga 8. @aredlotus 9. @IntegralHack 10. @yogitechchick is super sweet and networking savvy, active, totally worth the follow. Spinal Tap Honorary Number Eleven: @gaiam More on Twitter
 
Larry King Interviews The Large Hadron Collider (VIDEO) Top
The world's largest particle accelerator sat down for interview with Larry King. It can't talk, but that didn't seem to bother Larry, whose endless stream of inane questions led him to an endless stream of inane anecdotes. WATCH: Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter! More on Funny Videos
 
Lee Stranahan: WATCH: The New Republican Party Presents "Gay Don't Pay!" Top
The Republicans have wasted no time in promoting Michael Steele's recent statement that gay marriage is a threat to small business. More on Miss California
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)