The Horror Of War In The ‘City Of Life And Death’

Lu Chuan’s film City of Life and Death lives up to its title. In documentary-like black and white, the writer/director shows the systematic murder of thousands of Chinese soldiers; some are machine gunned, some marched into the sea, some burned, some buried alive. Then the invaders turn to the civilian population and the process of [...]

No Wheat Doesn’t Mean No Noodles

To be completely honest, I would find it hard to do without noodles. If I had to go gluten-free, noodles would almost certainly be the deal breaker. Giving up bread would be hard, and beer, even harder. But going without noodles? That would really sink my battleship. So, out of fellow-feeling for my gluten-free friends, [...]

Palestinians Plan Trappings Of A State Before U.N. Bid

Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians are at a standstill. Palestinians say they will now take their drive for statehood to the United Nations this September. Israel says the move violates previous agreements and is a dangerous act of unilateralism. But on the ground, Palestinians say some of the trappings of a state are being [...]

Greek Default Could Spur Europe-Wide Contagion

Greece’s day of reckoning is very nearly at hand. Bright anger has spilled onto the street as the country tries to dig its way out of an economic crisis and Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government faces a confidence vote Tuesday that could bring about its collapse. European Union ministers have threatened to cut off billions [...]

Kerry, McCain Introduce Bill Authorizing Limited Involvement In Libya

Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) have introduced a bill that authorizes U.S. involvement in Libya for one year. The bill would also prohibit the use of ground troops. The AP reports: The measure is a clear counter to efforts in the House to prohibit spending and effectively end the operation, a reflection [...]

Air Quality Concerns Threaten Natural Gas’ Image

Massive stores of natural gas that lie underneath big portions of the United States offer a cleaner source of electricity to a country that relies heavily on coal, but producing all that gas also can pump lots of pollution into the air. Gas production already has caused unhealthy air in Wyoming’s Sublette County and Utah’s [...]

Obama’s Awkward Dance On Gay Marriage

President Obama’s self-described evolution on same-sex marriage is not happening fast enough for some gay and lesbian activists. His belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that the legalization of gay marriage should be left up to the states, puts him in an awkward position this week as he heads [...]

Great Lakes May Beat Atlantic To Offshore Wind

States along the Atlantic Coast are racing to be first in the country to put wind turbines offshore. But a group in Ohio says the first offshore wind farm in America isn’t likely to be in the Atlantic, but in the fresh waters of Lake Erie about seven miles off the Cleveland coast. A dull [...]

Men With Social Media Savvy Love Their Fast Food

It may not come as a shock that young men are frequent, loyal customers of fast-food restaurants. Somebody’s buying those super-sized meals and double cheeseburgers, and the restaurants know who. But what may come as a surprise is that these guys are willing to dish to a social media survey company about how many packets [...]

‘Death And After In Iraq’: Memoir Of A Mortuary

Right after she graduated from high school in 2001, Jess Goodell enlisted in the Marine Corps as a mechanic. She was stationed in Okinawa, Japan — but she wanted to go to Iraq. “I felt a pressure both from my peers and from within that in order to be a real marine, I needed to [...]