1) Post Strike Blues.

Your favorite shows are in reruns. Michael Johns just got unjustly booted from American Idol. Someone told you that the NHL Playoffs are on right now, but you think that’s just an unfounded rumor (does the NHL still actually exist? Can anyone confirm or deny?)

Sounds like the perfect time to go rent BBC’s 6-part miniseries “State of Play,” an absolute blast that is part thriller, part political intrigue, part melodrama, and a lot of journalistic fun. “State of Play” mostly represents everything U.S. television is not; smart, well-acted, significant, and a sense of when to call it quits.

2) It’s only 6 hours.

Unlike U.S. television, which milks series like “Prison Break” that should have ended in development but at most should have ended with season 1, those Brits know how to leave you wanting more. After “The Office” signed off after 12 episodes and one special, State of Play is a 6 hour miniseries and that’s it. No long-term commitment required, just don’t expect to stop watching after you’ve gobbled up episode 1.

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Hailing a cab is one of those techniques New Yorkers have learned from a young age. If they moved to Los Angeles, they’d have trouble using their skills. One unique fact about the bustling town of Los Angeles is that unlike most metropolitan areas, cabs are not coloring the busy streets yellow. The reason there are so few cabs in the busy streets of this city is because they can’t stop.

Contrary to popular myth, it is not illegal to hail a cab but it is illegal for cabs to impede traffic or park illegally. Since almost all areas in Los Angeles are notorious for heavy traffic, taxi cabs find it difficult to stop without risk of large fines. Cabs will still pull over in these areas, but it is not without risk which many drivers are not willing to take. Taxi drivers are claiming that these regulations are hurting business and making it difficult to make ends meet. General Manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles claims that his drivers spend around 60% of their time waiting at designated stands. One cab driver had accumulated over $300 of tickets for stopping in a red zone and dropping off a disabled passenger in a bus zone. Parking enforcement hands out numerous tickets to cab drivers for small violations; sometimes the fines are larger than the earned fare making it hard for cab drivers to earn a living. That doesn’t even include the rising cost of gasoline that is hurting all businesses. As Los Angeles grows in population and traffic, there seems a benefit to creating a taxi-cab culture similar to other large cities.

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The key to the Democratic nomination may come down to the Keystone State, and many are hoping it will. The outcome of the Pennsylvania primary on April 22^nd means a lot for the current contenders to the nomination: Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Senator Clinton knows that this primary can be the end to her hard-fought and persistent campaign. Even if she acquires victory in this state, a close margin between the two candidates will give her a sign that staying in the race will have more negative consequences to the Democratic Party than possible personal gains.

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George Bush uses the Christian faith and its symbols to work miracles for winning political battles. Let’s hope the American voters become savvy about these tricks.

Sometimes, when seeking inspiration, I hang out on the lower side of San Pedro, LA’s harbor area, where I talk to the homeless people and those who inhabit another dimension. Other times I just walk down the street to a Catholic Church and hang out with the parishioners. After talking with acquaintances there, I realized many people had actually voted for G.W. Bush simply because he talked about God. In this regard, Bush has mastered modern politics, so let’s give him credit for manipulation at least.

Then, alas, the questions came to me. Does the local church reflect the nation’s way of thinking? Is a man who talks of God necessarily a follower of Christ’s teachings? Does God-talk make a man more moral? Then I recalled how my good friend Machiavelli once told me how he set down one of the most explicit doctrines for modern politics while advising a sixteenth-century prince, counseling him to do whatever was practical for the sake of power, and that it was highly effective to use moral principles and especially religion to achieve success.

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Are suicide bombers similar to others who commit suicide? Do they derive their motivations from the same sources?

There were more than four suicide bombings just last Monday to mark Cheney’s visit to Iraq. A woman entered a mosque in Karbala, killing dozens and wounding another hundred. What drove her to this?

When Mahmoud Marmash, a young bachelor, blew himself up near Tel Aviv, in 2001, he took several Jews with him, perhaps to the same afterworld, or maybe not. “I want to avenge the blood of the Palestinians.” From a poor community– he grew up where many people despair in poverty and hopelessness– Mahmoud’s act is difficult for many of us to understand. We wonder what would push a person to such extremes?

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Sexypolitics.com is a new website that proves that to be informed, is to be SEXY. The site allows you to quiz your knowledge and learn things about Obama, Clinton, Arms, websites, local news and much more all while watching someone undress. And, what a better way to learn about politics than with watching people get naked?! When you get questions right, the person of your choice takes off an article of clothing, if you get it wrong answer than you get mocked! It’s awesome. You simply go to the site, select the type of quiz you are going to take, select the person you want to watch script, a bit of music, and then answer the right questions and watch them get naked!

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With war, it’s often impossible to ever truly understand what adds up to what. We hear, 2 billion dollars here, 25 lives there, and rarely do we ever see what all of those numbers add up to. Below is a list of sums added up of all the lives lost, lives effected, money spent, money lost, forces used, decisions made, and problems still occurring.

As we begin the sixth year of the Iraq War, it’s important to look at what was said would happen and what has actually been done. Everyone has an opinion about the current situation in Iraq and everyone has to make their own decisions on what should or should not be done. But one thing is for certain. The numbers. Take a look at decide for yourself if you really think these number are worth whatever we may “gain” from this war.

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America Ferrera will be one of the supporting actresses to grace the screen in directors Ligiah Villalobos new Spanish speaking film Under the Same Moon. The movie does not delve into the ‘electric fences’ or minute men militia type immigration process’. More so it takes a look at love and family. Villalobos believes that the significant drive behind each individual choice to cross the border is always based on love and family. Parents and siblings alike leave their towns and head to Los Angeles; finding menial jobs like washing dishes and selling tomatoes to stay under the radar of INS agents. The hardships unfortunately do not end once the border has been crossed. Poor living conditions followed by below minimum wage jobs often provide for a dismal situation. Most their earnings are sent home to family living in even harsher situations back home.

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The Time.com headline said it all. Apparently, discussions about race are unheard of or, at least, unexpected in a post-Civil Rights era presidential election. Hence the reason for characterizing yesterday’s speech by the Democratic frontrunner as “Obama’s Bold Gamble on Race.” Why must it be both bold and a gamble to talk about race? Do you see a happy, melting potted citizenry in this country?

It all began with the sermons of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., now retired after decades on the pulpit at the Trinity United Church of Christ. Fox News, whether on television or online, depicts him as a hate-monger whose “inflammatory” oratory was simultaneously anti-American and anti-White. Other media outlets followed suit, condemning Obama for attending services at a church where the preacher’s use of black liberation theology was widely accepted. At first glance, with one’s God-given ability to think critically stuck in “Park” rather than shifted to “Drive,” Wright’s words are appalling:

“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because of stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own backyard. America is [like] chickens coming home to roost.”

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Here is an amazing video shot by a senior in high school about 9/11 using porn clips.

Gradually the true nature of the porno begins to show as you go further into the film. For the record, for anybody curious, my teacher knew I had edited an early 80s porn for the video, though the students generally had no idea. It was a bit of a mindfuck for everybody. All voices are done by yours truly.

I chose to make a video for my culminating task for senior-year (Canadian) Politics class was regarding the war on terror and whether or not it’s effective/justified. I wanted to incite a variety of emotions in the viewer while still being educational and entertaining - so I took a porno from ‘81, remixed it into an an American-perspective War on Terror Porno Musical where the main character goes into trances at the subject of discussion and, gradually, the true nature of the porno begins to rise (especially the ending).

Kid Does His War on Terror School Project using Porn (Clean) from Arman Noory on Vimeo.