AltWeeklies Wire
Is Nigeria Finally Cleaning Up Its Crooked Ways?new
In a move that threatens to make emptying your spam folder much less amusing, the Nigerian government recently launched a big crackdown on so-called "419" scammers. The 419 scam, named for the section of the Nigerian legal code outlawing it, reportedly rakes in billions of dollars annually.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Andisheh Nouraee |
01-12-2010 |
Commentary
Tags: War on terror
Colorado Springs Utilities Spends Millions to Reach an Already Captive Audiencenew
Today, trying to get attention that way is like whispering in Times Square. So what do you do? Blog? Tweet? Issue press releases? Go on radio? TV? YouTube? Colorado Springs Utilities does all of that and then some, at a cost to ratepayers of $3.25 million this year.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Pam Zubeck |
01-12-2010 |
Media
Ten Years of Pulitzer Prize Winners, And What They Say About Usnew

We are a nation of many religions and races, but we're only recently comfortable with that (and sometimes, not so much). We are serious and sober and value hard work, but we also like comic books. At the end of the day, all we'd like to do is go home and have a slice of pie.
Weekly Alibi |
Erin Adair-Hodges |
01-12-2010 |
Books
Meet St-Germain Elderflower Liqueurnew
St-Germain is an artisanal liqueur made from 100% fresh, wild, hand-picked elderflowers picked in late spring in the foothills of the Alps. The seductive bouquet is your first hint that St-Germain is something special, with aromatic hints of honeyed pears and white peaches along with Meyer lemons.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Ted Scheffler |
01-12-2010 |
Food+Drink
Attorney Aaron Tarin Fights For Undocumented Immigrantsnew

Aaron Tarin believes Hispanics coming to Utah are following God’s plan. In The Book of Mormon it is prophesied that close to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the people of Lamanite descent, whom Tarin interprets as being primarily Hispanics, would experience a spiritual and physical gathering in the Americas.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Stephen Dark |
01-12-2010 |
Immigration
Ten Years After: Looking Back to the Lessons of the Double-0snew
At the end of another decade we asked a cross-section of locals — as in, once you're tied to this area, you're always tied to this area — about their experience of the last decade. What mattered? What did we learn? What gives hope for the future? What follows is a sampling of the responses.
Metro Times |
Metro Times Readers |
01-12-2010 |
Commentary
Maryland's Doom-Metal Godfather Had a Pretty Good Year (For Once)new
Now nearly 50 years old, Scott Weinrich has fronted two seminal metal bands, The Obsessed and Saint Vitus. He has piloted vital Maryland outfits the Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan, made music with Dave Grohl under the Probot handle, and, finally, in 2009 issued his first-ever solo album, Punctuated Equilibrium.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michael Byrne |
01-12-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Christian Siriano Talks About Success, Style, the Industry, and Ferocitynew

Prior to evolving into the gravity-defying-coif-sporting, catchphrase-spouting enfant terrible who walked away with Project Runway's fourth season title, Christian Siriano was a self-described "little fairy white kid walking around in giant FUBU jerseys" in Annapolis.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
01-12-2010 |
Nonfiction
'Electrosensitive' Activist Sues to Stop Neighbor's iPhone Usenew
Arthur Firstenberg claims that the low-level electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones and other modern gadgets makes him suffer terribly. The side-effects of exposure, he believes, include “nausea, vertigo, diarrhea, ringing in the ears, severe headaches and body aches, crippling joint pains," and other ailments.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Corey |
01-12-2010 |
Tech
Strip Searches at Maricopa County Jails Are Under Firenew

The United States Supreme Court has never officially weighed in on whether it's permissible to strip-search arrestees charged with minor crimes, like Michelle Miguel. But plenty of lower courts have — and they agree that the practice is unconstitutional.
Phoenix New Times |
Sarah Fenske |
01-12-2010 |
Crime & Justice
With Nowhere Left to Run, Refugees are Still Waiting to Make This Homenew
When Foibe Nibitanga got a ticket to a new life in the United States, she didn't expect the fear and hunger of the refugee camp to follow her to Kansas City. The Burundi native leans forward, trying to speak over the cries of toddlers who, in the absence of toys, play with couch cushions and a set of keys.
The Pitch |
Carolyn Szczepanski |
01-12-2010 |
Immigration
New Mammograms Guidelines Have Women Confusednew

The new guidelines say women in their 40s shouldn’t be routinely screened for breast cancer — unless they have reason to believe they’re at higher risk. Why the change from 2002, when a federal task force called for these women to get routine mammograms every one to two years?
New Haven Advocate |
Jenny Blair |
01-12-2010 |
Science
Milford, Conn. is Spending Big Bucks For the Chance to Regulate Smutnew

The stripper, in a skirt so short it only covers half her butt cheeks, turns her back to a group of marginally interested men. She drops to all fours, jiggles her butt in their faces and spanks herself. To date, Milford has spent $258,730.45 in legal fees to prevent scenes like this one
New Haven Advocate |
Betsy Yagla |
01-12-2010 |
Sex
'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus': City Paper Grade B+new

The narrative is a showy gloss on the Faust legend with Tom Waits as a carny-huckster Beelzebub and Christopher Plummer as a monk-turned-immortal showman, and its reliance on oft-told tales and fairy tale archetypes is welcome given how the narrative seems to unravel rather than unfold.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Shaun Brady |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Well-Endowed: Very, Very Large Drawings on Display in Philadelphianew
In a word? Satisfying. Seven artists' work is effectively installed in a compact space, and a striking variety of approaches and mediums suggests perennial issues relating to drawing.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Robin Rice |
01-12-2010 |
Art