Backdoor Man

Backdoor Man

AMY TAUBIN ON LARRY CLARK AND DESTRICTED

THE PROVERBIAL casting couch is the central object in Larry Clark's Impaled, the most compelling of the seven short films in the "art-porn" compilation Destricted (screening May 13 and 17 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music). The other contributors to this not-altogethernovel omnibus are Marina Abramovic, Matthew Barney, Marco Brambilla, Caspar No�, Richard Prince, and Sam Taylor-Wood. Barney's deluxe depiction of his cherished subject-the hydraulics of male sexuality-is his most succinct and therefore hilarious cinematic work to date. Abrarnovic's ribald, Slavic fertility rite is notable for being the only segment in which …

EU leaders, wary of public doubts and 'green' concerns, to sign bloc's new treaty

European Union leaders gathered in Lisbon on Thursday to sign a new treaty they say is a milestone in the bloc's history.

The signing was taking place, however, amid complaints that the heads of government were not planning to hold referendums on the document, and accusations about environmental damage they were causing by flying to a two-hour ceremony.

The Lisbon Treaty, endorsed by the EU's 27 leaders two months ago after years of unease among Europeans about how much sovereignty they should surrender to a centralized administration, replaces a thwarted project to establish a European Constitution.

The treaty scraps the system under which the …

That's the way Chicago crumbles

'Welcome to Earth: population zero," announces "Life After People," a History Channel series with one mission: to freak you out. Tonight's episode focuses on what would happen to London, Atlanta and Chicago if humankind were to suddenly disappear.

(Hint: cannibal pigs.)

The Chicago portion of the 9 p.m. show is eerily realistic, maybe because producers had such a conveniently close case study. They looked to a once-thriving, now-abandoned section of Gary as what could happen to another lakeside city in a short amount of time. The narrator sternly calls Gary "the Pompeii of the Midwest."

The question "Well, what happened to the people?" is never addressed, and it's …

Banking on an Outsider: Implications for Escalation Control in South Asia

The potential for confrontation between India and Pakistan continues to worry many around the world. The two nuclear powers are highly crisis prone; they have been embroiled in at least three major crises since they declared their nuclear weapons capabilities to the world in 1998. Over the past decade, terrorism on Indian soil has become the number one trigger for Indian-Pakistani crises. The threat still remains clear and present. Prior crises were initiated due to provocative posturing (1987) and even confusion and misperception (1990). These also remain plausible drivers of the next crisis.1

Each Indian-Pakistani crisis implies increased tensions, tit-for-tat brinkmanship, and …

ABC Expands Programs Dubbed in Spanish

PASADENA, Calif. - Coming soon to a small screen near you: "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," and "Lost" - in Spanish.

ABC is expanding its number of programs dubbed into Spanish, including those hits along with "Dancing With the Stars," "George Lopez" and the new Latino comedy "Ugly Betty."

The rest of the network's regular prime-time entertainment lineup will be available with Spanish language …

Postseason NHL Schedule

N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 3

Saturday, April 18

N.Y. Rangers 1, Washington 0

Monday, April 20

Washington 4, N.Y. Rangers 0

Wednesday, April 22

N.Y. Rangers 2, Washington 1

Friday, April 24

Washington 4, N.Y. Rangers 0

Sunday, April 26

Washington 5, N.Y. Rangers 3

Tuesday, April 28

Washington 2, N.Y. Rangers 1, Washington wins series 4-3

___

New Jersey vs. Carolina

Wednesday, April 15

New Jersey 4, Carolina 1

Friday, April 17

Carolina 2, New Jersey 1, OT

Sunday, April 19

…

CHA Ripped As Searches Continue

The Chicago Housing Authority conducted more warrantless searchesof residents' apartments Friday, announcing the seizure of 14 gunsand many rounds of ammunition this week that they said proved theneed for such searches.

Many residents and the American Civil Liberties Union condemnedthe searches, which were initiated without the sanction of a federaljudge.

Some residents, however, said they didn't mind.

The CHA is under a 1989 consent decree governing the so-calledemergency security sweeps. The consent decree stems from aclass-action suit against the agency.

"We consider this an action very similar to bomb threats fromterrorists," CHA Chairman …