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Former Spy Rejects al-Qaeda Theory in Bhutto Killingnew

Although the Pakistan government has blamed al-Qaeda for the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the former head of the country's national spy agency described it as a tactic to hide security lapses and to please the U.S.

The Georgia Straight | Gurpreet Singh | 01-04-2008 | International

Tags: international

Joe Balass Goes Back to Iraqnew

The filmmaker revisits a vanished Jewish community in Baghdad Twist.

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 01-04-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Baghdad Twist, Joe Balass

Horrorcore is Like Canned Chicken Soupnew

Horror of '59's second album sounds like circa-'78 Ozzy Osbourne fronting the new Misfits.

Cleveland Scene | D.X. Ferris | 01-04-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Horror of '59

Phil Fish Designs His Games the Indie Waynew

The former Ubisoft Montreal designer is part of a growing wave of independent game makers.

Montreal Mirror | Erik Leijon | 01-04-2008 | Video Games

Tags: video games

The Year's Best Charactersnew

The best supporting actors have said there's little more satisfying than working in concert with a well-oiled ensemble. And little more fun to watch, which is why a package deal and a duet top my list of the best supporting actors of 2007.

L.A. Weekly | Ella Taylor | 01-04-2008 | Movies

Perhaps We Can Make Ourselves Invisiblenew

Invisible cloaks like the one imagined in the Harry Potter books are in the realm of possibility.

NOW Magazine | Joseph Wilson | 01-04-2008 | Tech

Tags: computers & technology

Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007new

For all that's been written posthumously about his eight Grammys and numerous citations, awards never mattered much to the humble man who was Canada's greatest jazz musician, who died of kidney failure December 23 at the age of 82.

NOW Magazine | Tim Perlich | 01-04-2008 | Music

Satan's Choicenew

This colorful, well-crafted historical tale of a bad cop and the corrupt system he served to death shows that the U.S. has been executing innocent people for a long time.

NOW Magazine | Howard Goldenthal | 01-04-2008 | Fiction

Tags: Mike Dash, Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century, Fiction Reviews

'Indian Summer' is a Great Read & Backgrounder to Today's Headlinesnew

Historical giants weave in and out of the years of high drama leading up to the British forces' withdrawal from India in 1947. But Von Tunzelmann reveals, often with comical verve, that many of those giants were grossly flawed.

NOW Magazine | Howard Goldenthal | 01-04-2008 | Nonfiction

Tags: Alex Von Tunzelmann, Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire, Nonfiction Reviews

In Iowa, Populist Candidates Court Middle Classnew

Democratic and Republican candidates are delivering a populist message. Why? The obvious explanation is the growing squeeze on the middle class and concentrations of wealth and attendant levels of inequality not seen since the early years of the 20th century, when populism last was a major force in American politics.

INDY Week | Jonathan Weiler | 01-04-2008 | Politics

Tags: 2008 presidential election

A Green Report Card for L.A.'s Mayornew

Environmentalists are holding Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to his campaign promise to turn Los Angeles into the cleanest, greenest big city. His goals deserve high marks, but his execution is, well, closer to average, mostly because of delays and roadblocks imposed by industry.

Los Angeles CityBeat | Abigail Palmer | 01-04-2008 | Environment

Tags: environment