Region

UN vs. Israel

So the United Nations wants to investigate Israel's alleged human rights violations during the recent conflict in Lebanon? I suppose I can understand that. After all, it was Israel that crossed the border and captured soldiers. It was Israel that went into civilian areas and hid behind innocent people as it launched rockets at its enemies. It was Israel that sent suicide bombers into neighboring countries. Wait. Israel did not do those things. Hezbollah did.

Terrorism, not Nazism

Say what you will about the members of the Bush administration, but they are wordsmiths. That's a title that neither myself nor most people would normally bestow on someone such as "W," but if you look at the administration's history, I think that it's a fair word to use to describe them. The administration has used the power of words to make Democrats out to be homosexual lovin', baby killin', un-American softies on national security.

Time travel

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France -- "Time is money." "I'm out of time." "I wish there were more hours in the day."

U.S. hands over military control to Iraqi officials

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Coalition forces handed over control of Iraq's armed forces command to the government Thursday, a move that U.S. officials have hailed as a crucial milestone on the country's difficult road to independence.

Time to change course

On Tuesday, the Bloomington Faculty Council met to review a proposed standard general education curriculum for all the schools in the IU system -- a measure intended to help undergraduate students transfer between the regional campuses. Included with the more conventional requirements -- English, math, humanities, sciences, etc. -- is a plan to have all students take six credits in second-year foreign language courses, six credits in cultural diversity courses (with one course coming from an area of the world beyond the United States and Western Europe) or a semester abroad. The proposed curriculum is still in the discussion stage (although the BFC is optimistic that it will pass with some modifications) and is not due to go into effect until the arrival of the freshman class of 2011.

Hill promises to change health care system, war

Baron Hill, Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District, addressed the IU College Democrats Wednesday and promised change if re-elected to Congress.

Getting into the game

IU senior quarterback Graeme McFarland prepares every day for moments like the one he experienced Saturday night. With 2:34 left in the third quarter and the Hoosiers leading 29-13 against Western Michigan University, McFarland jogged onto the field at Memorial Stadium.

Firefighters make gains on 290-square-mile wildfire

BIG TIMBER, Mont. -- After being grounded by smoke for a day, firefighting helicopters returned to work Wednesday, pouring water on a nearly 290-square-mile wildfire that had destroyed 26 homes and forced hundreds to evacuate.

Libertarian finds place in heated 9th district race

If Eric Schansberg doesn't look like your average politician, it's because he's not. He's an economics professor at IU-Southeast.

Upland brewery to expand beer production

Most 20-somethings are content to buy their booze, but Caleb Staton has been brewing it since he was barely old enough to drink. "After I graduated college, I started brewing beer in my basement," he said. "At first it was just a hobby. I was kind of goofing around and figuring it out."

Sushi 101

Sophomore Craig Shank did not feel confident the first time he tried sushi. Intimidation is a common among students who have never tried sushi before, but experts and students alike say that with a little bit of daring and some help from friends, learning to eat sushi can be fun and easy.

Involvement Fair brings students extra-curricular opportunities

A big yellow balloon with red ribbons floated in the sky yesterday afternoon. The ribbons pointed to the IMU circle drive, where a disc jockey's music mingled with the chatter of several students holding flyers and candy.

"Illusionist" conjures up fairy tale storytelling

The movie "The Illusionist" is one of those rare cinematic delights the film world rarely churns out anymore: a period piece that relies not on fancy sets and costumes but on solid performances carried by a story surely written in finest calligraphy. Edward Norton plays Eisenheim the illusionist, a man capable of taking off his gloves, turning them into black ravens before planting a single seed into a soil-filled pot and bringing forth a fully grown bush of oranges. While some might find his dark arts to be blasphemous, the crowds and crowns of Vienna are enthralled by it, especially Sophie (Jessica Biel), the fiancée of Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell).

Here's the real antidote: don't waste time with this movie

Who knows what Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor were thinking when they wrote this script. Maybe they were just eager to make their writing and directorial debut and didn't care how good the movie itself was. And I don't know what it is about Jason Statham("Snatch," "The Transporter") always choosing to star in movies with lame plots and lots of action. I don't think he's a bad actor -- I just think he makes bad decisions as to what roles to take.

Welcome back, primetime

For the first time in a couple of years, my DVR is being used to its fullest capacity. In the past five years the networks faltered and primetime programming fell into a deep reality TV abyss, one I thought we would never navigate our way out of. Don't get me wrong, for the first couple of years it was mildly entertaining to see how far people would go to win an exorbitant amount of money.

A public "despair"

Jessica Simpson confuses the hell out of me. At first she was presented as a goody good songstress, molded from a strong Christian-rooted family. She was no sexy Britney Spears. And she was certainly no Xtina. Then came her vastly popular show with Nick Lachey, "Newlyweds," on MTV, and yup, that squeaky clean image quickly disappeared.

The funniest show to ever be cancelled

The funniest and most bizarre show on television got even funnier and more bizarre in its third and final season, going out with a bang and not a whimper. Enough fuss has been made about Fox's decision to cancel Arrested Development midstream, but what more can be expected from the same roundtable that keeps the Fox News Channel going 24/7? The best that can be done is to celebrate the show for what it was, which was much, much more than any comedy currently on air.

THE DISH

Revamped, retro-style theaters allow residents to drive in, drive out

If you ask your grandparents (and some of your parents) what it meant to "go to the movies," their answer may be significantly different than yours. Fifty years ago, few were the posh theaters with 20 screens, stadium seating, air conditioning and a smorgasbord of overpriced candy. And reserving tickets ahead of time online was not even a fathomable luxury. Back in the good ol' days, "catching a movie" suggested one thing; a nearly obsolete practice that's usually seen only in movies themselves: pulling up in your car to a drive-in theater.

Italian reissue skewers family's hypocrisy

"We're not millionaires or barons. Our only treasure is our good name", says patriarch Don Vincenso (Saro Urzi) in "Seduced and Abandoned". It's a philosophy most people live by, but to him, it's more of a duty. As a result, he and his family are thrown into a series of emotionally distressing yet comedic events, sparked by the affair between his daughter Matilde's fiancé, Peppino (Aldo Puglisi) and his other daughter, Agnese (Stefania Sandrelli). Pietro Germi, who also wrote and directed "Divorce-Italian Style", offers another clever and amusing satire which provides a glimpse into the idiosyncrasies of Italian family values and traditions during the 1960's in small-town Sicily.