Sunday, April 25, 2010

“Critic's picks - visual arts - Boston Globe” plus 2 more

“Critic's picks - visual arts - Boston Globe” plus 2 more

Critic's picks - visual arts - Boston Globe

Posted: 25 Apr 2010 12:57 AM PDT

A fascinating exhibition about the connections between the cosmology of the Maya and water, featuring rare loans from around the world and unobtrusive interactive elements directed at younger viewers. Through July 18. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.org

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Al-Qaida front group in Iraq declares in statement ... - baltimoresun.com - News

Posted: 25 Apr 2010 01:55 AM PDT

CAIRO (AP) — An al-Qaida front group in Iraq declared in a statement posted on the Internet Sunday that its two top figures have been killed.

The statement by the Islamic State of Iraq provided the first confirmation from the terror network of the April 19 claim by the Iraqi and U.S. governments that the two men were killed in a joint operation while hiding at a safe house near the city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has described the death Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri as a "potentially devastating blow" to al-Qaida in Iraq. Their deaths also have provided Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a boost in his efforts to keep his job after his coalition finished second in parliamentary elections held March 7.

Sunday's statement said the death of al-Baghdadi and al-Masri would not affect the group's operations in Iraq after new members have joined the group recently. It also poured lavish praise on the two men.

"After a long journey filled with sacrifices and fighting falsehood and its representatives, two knights have dismounted to join the group of martyrs," the statement said. "We announce that the Muslim nation has lost two of the leaders of jihad, and two of its men, who are only known as heroes on the path of jihad."

The statement was posted two days after bombings mostly targeting Shiite places of worship killed 72 people in Iraq's bloodiest day so far this year. The bombings were seen as an apparent backlash by the Sunni-led insurgency after the slaying of the two al-Qaida leaders.

Nobody claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks, but Iraqi officials were quick to blame al-Qaida, which often targets Shiite mosques and religious processions in a bid to stoke new sectarian bloodshed.

Al-Maliki said the insurgents were fighting back after the deaths of their two leaders.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

WWII vet Phil Jackson's story must be told - Desert Sun

Posted: 25 Apr 2010 01:04 AM PDT

Most of you this Sunday morning have never heard of Phil Jackson, a former Los Angeles lawyer who retired in Rancho Mirage in 1989.

He was a quiet, but brilliant man who cherished the courtroom and the legal battles that ensued there. Being a lawyer appeased his mother, but deep inside, this man from New Mexico longed to be a stand-up comedian.

Maybe that's why he was always cracking jokes. Jackson's biting sense of humor kept his friends in stitches.

He was a proud USC Trojan fan, never missing a football game that his alma mater played.

More than anything, though, he loved his wife, Mary. They married in 1990, blending a family of seven sons and daughters. He doted on seven grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Mary called him "Punkin" - but only when no one else was around.

And on Thursday afternoon, this 92-year-old man was ready to do something he had never done before.

You see, after weeks of cajoling and encouragement from Mary, Jackson had agreed to meet with a reporter and discuss his service in World War II.

He was going to reach back, way back, to 1944 and share his memories of roaring across Europe with Lt. Gen. George Patton, and his crusading Third Army.

For the better part of 60 years, what Jackson saw and what he endured were locked in secrecy.

Perhaps haunted by those memories, Jackson - like so many other Coachella Valley veterans reporter Denise Goolsby has encountered since launching our "Heroes of World War II" series in November — rarely discussed outside of his family his experiences.

Fighting Hitler and the Japanese was merely a job that needed to be done, he and others have said. Often, the sights, sounds and losses were too painful to resurrect.

Besides, even if others didn't know their stories, history never will forget their contributions.

But Mary had other plans.

Phil's exploits with Patton and the Third Army needed to be shared, she insisted.

Not because his valor should boastfully be trumpeted in big headlines in the newspaper, she said. No, Phil's story of sacrifice, courage and deep devotion to country needed to be preserved for younger generations.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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