Gertrude Stein’s Smoking Gun

Posted on Oct 2, 2011

Art exhibitions reveal the real Gertrude Stein; young American Jews are disagreeing with their parents’ views on Palestine; meanwhile, the battle over bin Laden postmortem photos continues. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

Gertrude Stein’s “Missing” Vichy Years
If you want to discover the real Gertrude Stein, two art exhibitions now making their way to Washington, D.C., and Paris gloss over some shocking historic evidence.

The never-ending war against cliché and jargon
Robert Fisk protests the use of words of emptiness and exclusion, of elitism and trend, of a conference held for the sake of holding a conference. Of nothing.

Kick out the jams, Jamie Dimon!
A charismatic rebel leader has emerged in recent weeks to challenge the way things work on Wall Street—and, boy, does he come from an unexpected place.

Why Fewer Young American Jews Share Their Parents’ View of Israel
I [Dana Goldstein] understand the frustrations of the Palestinians who are dealing with ongoing Israeli settlement construction and sympathize with their decision to approach the U.N., but my mom supports President Obama’s promise to wield the U.S. veto, sharing his view that a two-state solution can be achieved only through negotiations with Israel.

Sex and the Single Drone: The Latest in Guarding the Empire
In the world of weaponry, they are the sexiest things around.

Why are TV folk so gullible?
How low have standards in television fallen when, in just two days, ITV’s new flagship “factual” program “Exposure” and the BBC news are both hoodwinked?

Battle over bin Laden Photos Heads to Court
The Obama administration asks a judge to throw out a lawsuit from a conservative legal watchdog.

Can Russia’s Social Media Forces Push the Putin Regime?
The latest political news from Russia has President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin swapping jobs again next year with the aim of sustaining Putin’s personal power structure for perhaps another dozen years.

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