It’s important to keep in mind what this whole the Terri Schiavo BS is really about; the 2006 elections:

From Seattle Times:
Republican leaders believe their attention to the Terri Schiavo issue could pay dividends with Christian conservatives whose support they covet in the 2006 midterm elections, according to a GOP memo intended to be seen only by senators.
The one-page memo, distributed to Republican senators by party leaders, called the debate over Schiavo legislation “a great political issue” that would appeal to the party’s base, or core, supporters. The memo singled out Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who is up for re-election next year.
“This is an important moral issue, and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue,” said the memo, reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. “This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.”

“More than 130 buildings are under construction in a haven for artsy young people.”

click image for building slideshow – care of NYTimes (reg req)
From NYTimes [read it here (reg required) or below]
Williamsburg Reinvented
In the last decade, Williamsburg in Brooklyn has been a first stop for young people new to the city, just out of college. As they have grown up, the neighborhood has too, evolving from dive bars and movie rental joints to chic sushi restaurants and designer furniture emporiums.
Most of these Williamsburg devotees are now young professionals, often working in creative fields. They tend to be in their 20′s and 30′s and earning $60,000 to $150,000 a year, according to David Maundrell, president of Aptsandlofts.com, a real estate company in Williamsburg.
“It is a small town of late 20- to 30-somethings,” said Mr. Maundrell, who is 30 and grew up in East Williamsburg. “They recognize people on the train going to work in the morning. Saturday mornings you go to walk your dog and get your coffee at 8 in the morning and someone else has the same routine.”

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We were going to post this last week as a “to do” but knew the opening weekend crowd would be too annoying. Check it this weekend:

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Greater New York 2005
MARCH 13 – SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
click for directions/info
Greater New York 2005, jointly organized by P.S.1 and The Museum of Modern Art, will go on view at P.S.1 on March 13,2005 showcasing more than 160 artists from the New York area. This exhibition builds from the spirit of its first incarnation, Greater New York, which opened at P.S.1 in 2000, shortly after the two institutions became affiliated.
Greater New York 2005 presents artists who have emerged since 2000. Their work explores both this specific time period, during which New York City has changed dramatically; shows vitality, energy, and exciting promise; and anticipates new artistic directions. The exhibition includes artists from New York’s five boroughs, as well as nearby towns in New Jersey.

From NY Times:

Under sharp questioning at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Goss sought to reassure lawmakers that all interrogations “at this time” were legal and that no methods now in use constituted torture. But he declined, when asked, to make the same broad assertions about practices used over the last few years.
“At this time, there are no ‘techniques,’ if I could say, that are being employed that are in any way against the law or would meet – would be considered torture or anything like that,” Mr. Goss said in response to one question.
When he was asked several minutes later whether he could say the same about techniques employed by the agency since the campaign against Al Qaeda expanded in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks in the United States, he said, “I am not able to tell you that.”
He added that he might be able to elaborate after the committee went into closed session to take classified testimony.

And of course, it’s not torture if you kill them. It’s a good thing we’re nipping that steroids/baseball thing in the bud!

[Sub Pop - 2005]
Review by Monte Holman
So your favorite bands are the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. And during the last decade you listened to a lot of Guided By Voices. Oh, and you’re a big fan of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Well then, Jennifer Gentle is your band.
Jennifer Gentle isn’t really Jennifer and is only sometimes gentle. This Italian male duo explores rough lo-fi recording and the rock aesthetic lightheartedly, finding music in laughter, kazoos, cowbells, and even squeaking balloons. But there’s another side to the band that helps us accept the jokiness and continue listening both critically and carelessly. Despite its superficial high jinks, Valende, Jennifer Gentle’s third album and first Sub Pop release, impresses.
Marco Fasolo and Alessio Gastaldello, the core of the band, write songs that are multifaceted. Sort of schizophrenic. Two tracks, “The Garden” (parts one and two), sound like they’re sung by the real-life female embodiment of Jennifer Gentle. Breathy and delicate falsetto vocals unravel atop acoustic guitars in “The Garden, Part One” and build back up in “The Garden, Part Two.” In between the garden songs convulses “Hessesopoa,” the kind of frenetic chaos Sun-Ra would enjoy (all seven minutes, thirty-three seconds of it). Beginning in light, quick cymbal hits, the song spirals out into hysteria, evoking the image of the Indians from the Good, Bad, and the Ugly soundtrack chasing Elmo through the percussion section of a music store.
These tracks represent the extremes of Jennifer Gentle: the band appreciates quiet harmonies, but they’re also really hyped up on coffee as one song title, “Liquid Coffee,” suggests. The other seven tracks on the album consist of possible combinations of the garden songs and “Hessesopoa.”
The backbone of most songs is a tinny acoustic guitar, a ride accompanying a loose drum kit, and a bass line. But Fasolo and Gastaldello fill everything out with extras, xylophone, Stones guitar, dreamy vocals, a recorder, whatever fits. “I Do Dream You” contains distorted guitar bends and warm organs topped off with hand claps. It’s a fast-paced go-go song. And I’m pretty sure the helium inhaled for this one carries over into the next track, “Tiny Holes,” which begins with a rising chord progression, lazily floating as if the musicians, well, inhaled too much helium and are now paying the price.

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From NY Times:
At least 26 prisoners have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 in what Army and Navy investigators have concluded or suspect were acts of criminal homicide, according to military officials.
The number of confirmed or suspected cases is much higher than any accounting the military has previously reported. A Pentagon report sent to Congress last week cited only six prisoner deaths caused by abuse, but that partial tally was limited to what the author, Vice Adm. Albert T. Church III of the Navy, called “closed, substantiated abuse cases” as of last September.

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from Sky.com
The snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro has melted away to reveal the tip of the African peak for the first time in 11,000 years.
The glaciers and snow which kept the summit white have almost completely disappeared.
Although scientists had predicted the melt would happen, it is 15 years sooner than they had predicted.
The white peak of the 19,340ft mountain has long formed a stunning part of Tanzanian landscape, not least because it is only 200 miles south of the equator.
The photograph is part of the NorthSouthEastWest exhibition by The Climate Group, a book of which will be presented to ministers at the G8 energy and environment summit in London.

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From Duluth News Tribune:
EPA plan to cut mercury due out today
ENVIRONMENT: The EPA rules are expected to allow power companies to trade pollution “credits” to meet a national goal of cutting emissions in half by 2010.
BY JOHN MYERS
The U.S. government today is expected to announce its first plan to cut toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The new rules are either the first step toward less mercury contamination in fish and people or a major mistake that benefits the nation’s coal industry. It all depends on whom you talk to.
The electric utility industry and Bush administration officials in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are touting the regulations as a realistic way to reduce the mercury produced when coal is burned — the largest source of human-caused mercury in the United States.

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Condi finally issued a definitive answer to the question of whether or not she will run for president in 2008, telling Tim Russert that it’s not going to happen. She also said she is in favor of keeping Roe v Wade in place. Now we actually WANT her to run…. the evangelicals would stay at home if the Republicans nominated a pro-choice candidate. It would have been interesting to see an election where the abortion issue was not part of the debate.
Disturbing article of the day:
From the UK Times Online:
Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant
Uzi Mahnaimi
ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans for a combined air and ground attack on targets in Iran if diplomacy fails to halt the Iranian nuclear programme.

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In celebration of the Armory Show in Manhattan, most Williamsburg galleries will be open until 11pm on Saturday, March 12:

From Flavorpill
No, not that kind of after-hours. Inspired by the 1,000-watt Armory Show across the river in Manhattan, tonight’s Brooklyn soiree is really a trans-gallery celebration of artists, filtered through the unique sensibility that is Williamsburg. Think of it as a lively promenade through the hip precincts of a robust, artistic community. With over two dozen galleries expected to contribute diverse performances and special events – including a live band at Pierogi, the always idiosyncratic offerings of the Dollhaus, and an Open Ground bash featuring DJ Damone and a talented roster of artists from Berlin – After-Hours provides an eclectic stroll through an epicenter of art that’s no longer merely emerging. (DI)
Note: Spike Hill Bar and Grill (184 Bedford Ave, 718.218.9737) houses an information center. Also, various afterparties abound – consult your favorite gallery for information.

Click here for gallery listings
Click here for more info