Publicity stunt, freedom of speech, or an equal mixture of both? Whatever your take on it, the Rev. Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida is getting maximum use out of the First Amendment with his plan to burn the Qur'an on Saturday, which just happens to be the anniversary of 9/11. Reaction has been ... well, you can probably guess. President Obama said, "I just hope he understands that what he's proposing to do is completely contrary to our values [as] Americans." Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has warned that the event will endanger U.S. troops stationed around the world: "Images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence." Even Sarah Palin condemned the event though not without using her pretzel logic as another chance to oppose the Muslim community center planned near Ground Zero: "Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation - much like building a mosque at Ground Zero." more ›

It wasn't all about roasting pigs out in the 'burbs this week: more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the... more ›

We haven’t seen this much talk about an album cover as art since LPs were phased out as the dominant form of music delivery. The artwork for Zeitgeist, the first album in seven years from a retooled Smashing Pumpkins, has been released. Graphic artist / illustrator Shepard Fairey was given the nod to create the cover for the band. Fairey has created album art before with such musicians as Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, 311,... more ›

Much of mankind's great literature contains conflict, violence, and death. We remember part of our high school curriculum contained Lord of the Flies, which by no means is about children living peacefully on a deserted island. There were many more, but that was just one of the more disturbing ones. more ›

Last month we told you about Heidi Zamecnik, the Naperville high-schooler who donned the "Be Happy, Not Gay" t-shirt at school in protest of homosexuality. more ›

Naperville high-school student Heidi Zamecnik is suing her school for what she claims was a violation of her civil right to freely express her moral opposition to homosexuality. Last April she wore a shirt to school that read "Be Happy, Not Gay." The shirt was worn the day after the school held a Day of Silence, where students can choose to remain silent all day in protest of discrimination against homosexuality. more ›

Gothamist posts on the capture of a NYC perv thanks to Little Brother and a camera phone. They also scour the city for vodka martinis and Shamrock shakes and spot the friend from the Wonder Years at a city law firm. New York police think that Littlejohn is their man. Houstonist is no stranger to megachurches or stripmalls or mega-strip-churchmalls. The children of Houston are under assault by unknown forces as this week a playground... more ›

Four panhandlers have filed a civil rights lawsuit saying Chicago police and the city violated their rights. They claim that the police, by enforcing an ordinance that prohibits people from congregating on or obstructing bridges, have unfairly singled them out as they solicited money and that the city ordinances are unconstitutional and violate their freedom of speech and other constitutional rights. more ›