Last Thursday Zach Kagan, master of the arts of ventriloquy, ventured down to Prentis Hall to review a very unusual and politically themed puppet show. Here’s what he took away from the experience.

Great Small Works presents “Toy Theatre of Terror as Usual Episode 13: Whistles and Leaks.” It’s a hell of a title. Of course, the particular get-together that Thursday night in the well-hidden Prentis Hall on 125th was about more than just puppets. It was about Bradley Manning, about how a war on terror creates terror itself, about poetry and conspiracy theories and artists coming together and sharing political art. But honestly, the puppets stole the show.

Get background information and more puppetry after the jump.

Bucket List represents the unbelievable intellectual privilege we enjoy as Columbia students. We do our very best to bring to your attention important guest lecturers and special events on campus. Our recommendations for this week are below and the full list is after the jump.

Recommended

• “Voting Rights v. Voter Suppression” Monday, March 26, 6:00 pm — 9:00 pm, IAB Kellogg Conference Center 15th Floor, Robert Lieberman, David Dinkins, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, Ted Shaw, Dorian Waren, Fred Harris, Elinor Tatum, Ester Fuchs (SIPA)
• “Black Swan Screening and Talk by Dr. Cheryl Corcoran” Tuesday, March 27, 7:00 pm — 10:00 pm, Lerner Hall, Roone Arledge Cinema, Cheryl Corcoran (Mental Health Awareness Week, CNS)
• “The Island President” Thursday, March 29, 6:30 pm — 8:00 pm, Low Library, Mohamed Nasheed, President of Republic of the Maldives (Earth Institute)
• “Scapegoating Bradley Manning, Wikileaks, and the Terror of the War Against Terror” Thursday, March 29, 7:30 pm — 9:00 pm, Prentis: 632 125th Street Room 101, more info here (Arts)
• “Delacorte Lecture: Bloomberg News” Thursday, March 29, 7:00 pm — 8:30 pm, J-School World Room, Richard Turley, creative director, Josh Tyrangiel, editor (J-School)

(more…)

Oh no, this record isn't straight!

Columbia librarians are using the Internet Archive to save full websites from human rights organizations so that they can continue to be accessed by scholars even after they’re shut down. (Internet Archive, Inside Higher Ed)

Although the late Manning Marable “never read e-mail on a computer, but had an assistant print it out,” his students created an online version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X full of links to historical documents and recent interviews. (NYT)

Columbia professor David Eisenbach and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt want to make sure that the steamier side of presidential politics is never forgotten. (WaPo)

How anal is the New York Times? Check out this correction they published yesterday. (Gothamist)

On average, New Yorkers tip taxi drivers almost 20%! How much do you tip? (WSJ)

This university is buying up low-income housing so it can expand its footprint in the city. Nope, it’s not Columbia (or NYU). It’s SUNY-Buffalo! (NYT)

“What would you do if you had to kill one man to save a hundred?” is a question in Wikileaks job interviews. That’s right, Julian Assange is a real-life Raskolnikov. (Independent, LitHum)

Frontiers flashback from Wikimedia Commons

Will there be WikiLeaks merchandise for dogs, too? Photo via Wikimedia.

Libya: Col. Gadhafi still holds on to power. As traders prepare for further reductions in Libya’s crude oil production, futures hit their highest prices in more than two years. (WSJ)

United States: Obama tells the Justice Department to stop defending the act that prohibits federal recognition of same sex marriages. The policy reversal follows weeks of “high-level” deliberations. This shift would mean that the marriages of same-sex couples in states where gay marriage is legal would become federally recognized.  (NYT)

Russia: Beer will be classified as alcohol for the first time, if a bill that passed its first reading in parliament Tuesday succeeds. For now, it is apparently classified as “foodstuff.” Like the contents of John Jay. And speaking of parliament, remember Anna Chapman? The one whose, um, intellect was hot? Well now she plans to run for parliament as a member of Putin’s party. This probably will NOT result in more Maxim photos. (Telegraph)

Something for Every Nation: WikiLeaks releases its official merchandise line. It has a surprisingly large selection of gear, much of which is adorned with the W.T.F. logo. (Gawker)

Radically transparent Bwog correspondent Alex Jones reports from yesterday’s panel discussion on Wikileaks, which featured Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times , and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian .

Audience members flew around the digital world on their phones–likely checking for the latest updates and videos from the democratic unrest in Egypt–as they took seats in Low Rotunda, a cathedral to the physical accumulation of knowledge that has been left in the Internet’s wake.  Wikileaks: The Inside Story was held Thursday on campus to discuss  the specifics of Wikileaks’ rise to international infamy and Julian Assange’s relationship with established media outlets with those most intimately involved.

From left to right: Keller, Rusbridger, Goldsmith

The panel was hosted by Columbia’s School of Journalism, and was comprised of New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, and former Assitant Attorney General Jack Goldsmith (now a professor at Harvard Law). Alan Rusbridger and, to a lesser extent, Bill Keller were Julian Assange’s main points of contact with the mainstream media as he attempted to disseminate formerly secret government documents. Thursday’s panel was the first time that Keller and Rusbridger had met publicly to discuss their process of dealing with the documents and their dealings with Assange. (more…)

Imitating Wikileaks—it’s a thing! Assange-wannabes across the globe are creating their own whistle-blowing websites. (Reuters)

Bwog is wondering what happened here.

P. Diddy is being sued for $1 trillion by a woman in Los Angeles for, among other things, causing the 9/11 terrorist attacks, putting her son (who he apparently fathered) in the hospital, and stealing her poker chip worth “zillions of dollars.” Bwog thinks people need to cut down on the hate. Diddy’s just a bad boy for life. (NME)

Recession? What recession? Goldman Sachs head honcho Lloyd C. Blankfein gets a hefty raise this year, moving up from a paltry $600K to a $2 million annual salary. Damn, it must feel good to be a banker. (DealBook)

iPhone/iPad credit card swiping—it’s a thing too! Yet another reason to love going to Joe’s at the NoCo. It’s cutting edge! (The Week)

Kim Clijsters wins the Australian Open singles title! Check out more Australian Open coverage here. (NYT)

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

A good chunk of the Columbia JSchool faculty has signed a letter to Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder claiming that the recent publication of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks is “protected by the First Amendment.” The faculty looks back a few decades and points out that “as a historical matter, government overreaction to publication of leaked material in the press has always been more damaging to American democracy than the leaks themselves.” Letter after the jump. (more…)

The SIPA WikiLeaks saga has come to a close. Last week, SIPA Office of Career Services warned students eyeing government positions to shut up about the whistle-blowing wonder that is WikiLeaks. Even tweeting and  linking to leaked documents on those crazy social networking sites could jeopardize future employment opportunities. “Engaging in these activities,” the email read, “would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information.” Naturally, everyone went crazy!

Luckily, SIPA Dean John Coatsworth (what a dignified-sounding name!) put out the fire. “Freedom of information and expression is a core value of our institution,” Coatsworth wrote in an email to SIPA students. It’s also a “core value” of the Constitution, but whatevs. You can talk about WikiLeaks now “without fear!”

Outspoken SIPA prof Gary Sick took it one step further. The Middle East expert who served on the National Security Council under Ford, Carter, and Reagan, passionately declared, ”If anyone is a master’s student in international relations, and they haven’t heard of WikiLeaks and gone looking for documents that relate to their area of study, then they don’t deserve to be a graduate student in international studies.” Curiosity… it’s valued!

Full e-mail from SIPA Savior/Dean John H. Coatsworth below:

(more…)

One step at a time

Notoriously stubborn New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has come to a compromise that may bring medical marijuana to the Garden State by next summer. (NYT)

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the one on Mulberry Street, has been designated a basilica, New York’s first. (Daily News)

Governments are scrambling in the wake of the most recent WikiLeaks document release. China is no exception, and officials there have censored the site. (Guardian)

Congratulations to the men’s basketball team, who defeated Stony Brook 73-72 in the final seconds of last night’s game. (CU Athletics)

Image via Wikimedia Commons

The ever-subtle Huffington Post believes SIPA’s WikiLeaks drama (beat you by a day, HuffPo!) worthy of the following massive headline:

That Photoshopping! Brutal!

Students eyeing federal government positions, beware. The U.S. State Department has barred its staffers from reading classified documents released via WikiLeaks. A SIPA alumnus working in the State Department saw fit to email SIPA’s Office of Career Services to warn students against linking to any leaked documents on social media sites as well, as it could jeopardize their future government employment. A Reddit user posted the full email on a thread discussing the topic:

“Office of Career Services” sipa_ocs@columbia.edu Date: November 30, 2010 15:26:53 EST To:

Hi students,

We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department. He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance. The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with >confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.

Regards, Office of Career Services

There isn't a lot of free space

Columbia Film Theory prof James Schamus was profiled in the NYTimes Mag as a standout scholar and screenwriter. Schamus proves his Columbia ties by talking about Plato (“the philosopher’s job is to love knowledge, logos, but it’s always corporealized…”) and smoking near Dodge Hall (“Schamus found a spot in the sun behind Dodge Hall to smoke a cigar”). Professors—they’re just like us! Except for the whole movie career. Anyways, he likes us: “For me,” he said, “the happiest place on earth is a well-run school.” Aw shucks. (NYTimes Mag)

FeelGoodCU, better known as those kids who sell grilled cheeses in JJ’s place, are on CNN. Amarynth Sichel, president of the Columbia chapter, is not only a “devout grilled cheese-maker,” but a much more official sounding “social entrepreneur.” Kudos FeelGooders for doing good and making scrumptious sandwiches! (CNN)

History prof and midnight biking enthusiast Kenneth Jackson is coming out with the second edition of his New York encyclopedia. “People love New York City,” he tells City Room. “This is a physical manifestation of a love affair.” But it wouldn’t be a great love without some drama; some people feel left out… (City Room)

This absolutely adorable article on Bingo fans was featured on the cover of the Metro section yesterday. The author follows Bingo addict Cynthia Kilvan: “Bingo is her fixation, her delight, the center around which her 74-year-old life rotates, as is true of thousands of believers who gravitate to the remaining commercial halls.” After her cancer surgery, Cynthia headed right to the bingo hall. Anywho, turns out a former Columbia math prof played a major role in Cynthia’s favorite past time. Toy salesman Edwin Lowe had faith in the then-fledgling game and enlisted Columbia prof Carl Leffler to “configure more than 6000 different bingo cards.” Apparently, he then went mad from all the combinations. Poor guy. Big thanks, Carl, because Bwog really likes Bingo. (NYTimes)

Big deal news: WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowers version of Wikipedia, released secret American diplomatic cables. (NYTimes)

And here’s something nutty that will make you chuckle. (New Yorker)

Photo via Wikimedia Commons