Life in the Ruins Life in the Ruins
How the destruction of architectural treasures became a weapon in Syria’s ongoing civil war.
Sep 23, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Frederick Deknatel
Under Pressure Under Pressure
How much of the pressure of reality can a work of art bear before it ceases to be art?
Sep 23, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
The Resource Privilege The Resource Privilege
How law firms and lobbyists protect and whitewash petroleum dictatorships.
Sep 23, 2014 / Books & the Arts / James North
Crows Crows
—after Crows by Unknown, Japan In perpetual silhouette perform against bronze. As exhausted dancers, undressed behind a scrim, the suggestion of nakedness more erotic than… En masse, they argue and flee between slim sessions of peace. This is existence: pain leashed or unleashed. Wings press against ribs in politesse or unfurl in demonstrations of power. When it’s over, crows remain as debris, Ebony confetti, wrecking more the wrecked world.
Sep 23, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Paula Bohince
Letters Letters
Snail’s pace… when cops kill… the Teachout moment… idiocy, emptiness, hopelessness… New Left revitalized…
Sep 23, 2014 / Our Readers
Puzzle No. 3338 Puzzle No. 3338
Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle. And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad. ACROSS 1 Solo sound of bell, leading to passion for working together (4,2,5) 7 and 28 Unions & co. fail miserably (3-3) 9 I ran my convertible around back of Earl Monroe (7) 10 Idea 15: mixed drink (4,3) 11 Disgusting earthborn alien (9) 12 Pastor Chris is filled with light (5) 13 Where the Aggies play cello badly, and pregnancy follows (7,7) 18 Avoiding the stock exchange, Umberto interrupts apparent stalker (4-3-7) 22 Type of pint drunk outside university (5) 24 Stood and tattled about Ecstasy and speed (9) 26 Shout: “This is not seen below” (7) 27 Chilean statesman to advance, immersed in brew (7) 28 See 7 across 29 Holy man with a moral stance: manage doctor’s device (11) DOWN 1 In Milan, my honey read over a songbook (6) 2 Filthy hotel porn: it can be magnetic (5,4) 3 Uncapped brand of beer is more praiseworthy for some (5) 4 Liquor’s English root (7) 5 Prolific writer taking detective’s drugs (7) 6 Disrupt serenity with a weariness of vision (9) 7 Up first, letters from American Spectator that I read (5) 8 Look over an object with hatred (8) 14 Ranges of faceless clichés (9) 15 Kernel of sweet corn, and more along the same lines (3) 16 One adjacent nose, broken at great length (2,7) 17 Concerning the totality of, like, Swiss cheese? (8) 19 Spay dog or cat—after trimming, she could be a source of inspiration (7) 20 Also, hen running with restricted movement (2,5) 21 Stick notice in this place (6) 23 God switched last two parts of a hybrid fruit (5) 25 Baked goods in a car (5) SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3337 ACROSS 1 CLAR(IN)ET 9 ACTO (anag.) + R 10 2 defs. 11 rev. hidden 12 J + ARGON 14 anag. 17 T + HEFT 19 anag. 21 anag. 23 pun 24 O + SCULATE (anag.) 28 O(OLE)R 29 DR + I’VE 30 anag. DOWN 1 BAT ON (rev.) 2 ST + RETCH 3 pra[n]ce anag. (&lit.) 4 [h]-ANK-H 5 hidden 6 EV(ER)GREEN (revenge anag.) 7 WAR + MS + POT 8 S + KIN 13 & 16 WELL + NESS 15 anag. 18 hidden 20 G(ONE)OUT 22 OPUS(DE)I (Ed rev., pious anag.) 23 D + ICE 25 rev. 26 AM-ISH 27 “flee”
Sep 23, 2014 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
The Fight to Keep Toxic Mining Out of El Salvador The Fight to Keep Toxic Mining Out of El Salvador
Hundreds of protesters recently gathered at the World Bank to shame a gold-mining firm’s shakedown of one of Central America’s poorest countries.
Sep 23, 2014 / Diana Anahi Torres-Valverde and Foreign Policy In Focus
Is Corporal Punishment a Form of Domestic Violence? Is Corporal Punishment a Form of Domestic Violence?
Americans widely accept the use of corporal punishment, but its effects are damaging.
Sep 23, 2014 / Melissa Harris-Perry
Is Steve Bisciotti Even Fit to Own the Baltimore Ravens? Is Steve Bisciotti Even Fit to Own the Baltimore Ravens?
Even if we accept everything Steve Bisciotti says as fact, that just means that he treated the Ray Rice incident with NFL’s usual indifference towards domestic violence.
Sep 23, 2014 / Dave Zirin
As US Bombs ISIS in Syria, Even Some Pro-War Pundits Express Skepticism As US Bombs ISIS in Syria, Even Some Pro-War Pundits Express Skepticism
The new war is only a few weeks old, but prominent cheerleaders are already expressing sober second thoughts.
Sep 23, 2014 / William Greider