On her influential blog, Nikki Finke writes about the business side of the entertainment industry.

Obama, Losing Jobs, Soon to Be Shovel-Ready

For some Japanese men, body-pillow girlfriends based on comic-book characters now take the place of the real thing.

Chris Hitchens, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have enlisted in the War on Terror because they believe that religion is not just mistaken, but evil.

"We're starting to hear a little discussion about the white underclass… Mainly because so many middle class folks are terrified of falling into it."

The hubbub around Michael Jackson's death was orchestrated by the same corporate forces that drove him insane.

If the publishers force Amazon to raise prices on e-books, that's what will happen.

If you defraud banks and customers of billions, you get taxpayer money. But if you are poor like Tearyan Brown of Trenton, N.J., you are in trouble.

Resentment of Arabs, minorities and designated foreign enemies ranging from Iranians to Barack Obama is now mainstream in Israeli society.

A series about vampires appears to be pulling the channel out of a dry spell that began when several hit shows like “The Sopranos” ended.

The Poor Get Poorer, Presidents Get Worse

The Israeli government stopped humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza by illegally seizing a boat carrying activists–and deported the activists days later.

With pornographic movies being sold online in chunks, moviemakers are now even less interested in story lines.

Given the connections between Iraq and Iran, it's not as unlikely as it sounds.

The unruly, unlexicographical but surprisingly useful offerings of Urban Dictionary.

The allure of crowd-sourced, single-topic blogs.

Thanks to technology, we may be entering a golden age.

The wreckage of the DC train crash is not an accident site. It's a crime scene. When we spend more on sports stadiums than infrastructure, people die.

Progressives must embrace emotion and passion to counter the force of corporate propaganda.

What the Nixon tapes tell us about the Republican Party.

Time for Obama to Get Serious

Thriller was Michael Jackson's masterpiece. It was also his curse.

Thinking you're right and trying to persuade other people you're right is not intolerant or close-minded — it's a cornerstone of democracy.

The old narrative of Israel as the innocent victim is losing its grip on Americans. This is necessary if we are to be even-handed brokers.

Restoring dignity to laboring America won't be easy. It won't be pretty, and it won't be "within the system." Because the system is the problem.

Barack Obama may be more dangerous than even his predecessor when it comes to the U.S.'s motivations internationally.

Antiwar authors Jeremy Scahill and Anthony Arnove analyze the record of the Obama administration on foreign policy after five months in office.

Japan panics about the rise of "grass-eating men," who shun sex, don't spend money, and like taking walks.

It was a crudely stage-managed insult to everyone involved.

In the first part of a series on working poor, a look at the effects of the recession on a group generally omitted from all the vivid narratives of downward mobility.

With Democrats Like Him, Who Needs Dictators?

Why do blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants?

What happened to all those liberated, self-reliant, self-branded free agents?

An examination of the 10 richest Americans reveals a rogue's gallery of serial polluters, budget-slashers, CIA contractors, union-busters and right-wing nuts.

The U.S. has played a decisive role in sustaining the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change.

Drop your sense of entitlement, Ehrenreich tells a graduating class of media makers, journalists are now "part of the working class."

A senior linked to a killing but not charged with a crime was told that she will not receive her diploma.

Is it wrong to murder an abortionist?

The historian who explained Israel to itself.

Disney is coming out with its first major black heroine later this year in "The Frog and the Princess," but to the dismay of Disney executives, the film is attracting chatter of an uglier nature.

Democrats Are More Powerful Than Ever. How Will They Justify Doing Nothing?

How did a 39-year-old, overweight, red-bearded stand-up comedian become his generation’s great white comedic hope?

Those who want peace in the Middle East must find the right words to help move American Jews towards a more balanced view of the conflict.

"It don't matter who gets to warm his butt in the White House chair. The top dogs eat high on the hog and the little dogs eat the tails and ears."

Palin knew her daughter was having sex in her own house. What does it take to get discredited as a right-wing "family values" merchant these days?

Mint.com transforms personal finance from an onerous task into a fun diversion.

Book publishers have always predicted that the end was nigh. When it does come they will have only themselves to blame.

Can a pro-choice president lead a pro-life majority?

The torture memos released by Obama elicited shock, indignation and surprise. The shock and indignation are understandable. The surprise, less so.

The embrace by any society of permanent war is a parasite that devours the heart and soul of a nation.

U.S. Troops Die For Rapists

Workers in the US and Europe are starting to ask the same question as their Latin American counterparts: why do we have to get fired?

As Wanda Sykes showed, comedians aren't funny when they try to flatter the president.

Obama once said, 'It's not enough to get out of Iraq; we have to get out of the mindset that led us into Iraq.' What happened to that Obama?

Like newspapers and other businesses buffeted by the financial crisis, the porn industry is in danger of extinction.

How love, subprime lenders and willful self-delusion led one man, an economics reporter, to the brink of foreclosure.

The U.S. has killed twice as many Afghan civilians as the Taliban this year and that number is sure to rise.

You may be poorer than you've ever been, but you have more free time to express anger and urgency.

The sports blabocracy are yapping about Jeremy Tyler's decision to skip his final year of high school and play pro basketball in Europe.

The president and prime minister have radically different visions for their country.

It Takes a Nation of Torturers to Hold Us Back

30 Rock's weird conservative streak.

Campuses have become a battleground, as the right launches a witch-hunt of professors who criticize Israel, defend multiculturalism or stand up as unionists.

It's that time of year.

Odd gems from the most indie Billboard chart.

"When companies begin to lose money, they start to listen."

Had Madoff just followed the example of his fellow tycoons, he could have legally multiplied his wealth many times over, legally.

Why the home loan industry won't (and can't) fix itself.

Wealthy proponents of charter schools claim they want to advance racial justice–even as public schools become more segregated.

Organized atheist groups liken their strategy to the gay-rights movement, which lifted off when members of a scorned minority went public.

Americans Lose Their Savings and their Minds

Reader comments are a key part of online journalism. So why do they mostly disappoint?

Millions of people looked forward to Barack Obama's presidency with a sense of pride and hope. But Obama's first 100 days have raised critical questions about the limits of what we can expect from a Democrat in the White House–and what it will take to get the change we want.

Ann Coleman reviews Slingshot Hip Hop, a documentary about Arab rap artists inside Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

Why Twitter is a trap.

HBO's critically-acclaimed "The Wire" creator David Simon talks about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism.

Sex addiction has emerged as the 21st century version of sin — the latest way to guilt people about sex.

Harman was allegedly heard saying she'd 'waddle into' the AIPAC case in return for support for her bid to become chair of the Intelligence Committee.

Craigslist's Casual Encounters listings are a major hub, offering to do for casual sex what the rest of the site does for no-fee apartments, temp jobs and furniture.

Why Hollywood is so slow to catch up on offering all of its movies and shows online.

Spain Enforces America's Laws

Creating jobs for artists–good for the economy and even better for the imagination.

The sort of borrowing it does is in the American journalistic tradition.

Truth comes before reconciliation.

The Web site Seeking Arrangement makes it easy for “sugar daddies” to connect with “sugar babies.” But the relationships it fosters are far from simple.

Advocacy groups are moving people into vacant homes, some in secret, others openly, as civil disobedience.

Among the payoffs Larry Summers received: $45K from Merrill Lynch days before he joined Obama's team. And it gets worse.

As men lose their jobs, households are depending increasingly on the relatively meager wages of women to stay afloat.

If we don't stop the rapacious looting of the public treasury, we'll be left with trillions in debts and a robust police state.

The corporate media may be obsessed with the right-wing's slanders about socialism, but a new debate about alternatives is underway on the left.

Broke and on a Losing Streak, Obama Doubles Down

How twentysomethings are coping with the recession.

Alan Maass examines a discussion about the relevance of socialism today taking place at the Nation magazine.

At its best, it was terrific. At its worst, it wasn't that bad.

When governments refuse to let politicians and academics into their countries, it's nothing but old-fashioned censorship.

Glenn Beck’s show has become wildly popular with a mix of moral lessons and outrage.

The notorious playwright and screenwriter — and the misanthropic, misogynistic guys he creates — are coming to Broadway, and it won’t be pretty.

Unless we take hold of the reins we will be cursed with a more ruthless form of corporate power wielded through naked repression.

It's time to kill the idea that newspapers are essential for democracy.

AIG exec Jake DeSantis' NY Times letter asking for us to chill out about his poor overworked employees is a sick joke.