VOICES | The day the art died by Michael Fallon, mnartists.org • The growing list of local art failures includes: Minnesota Film Arts, which, facing massive deficits, shuttered its beloved repertory theater, the Oak Street Cinema; the Minnesota Craft Council, which folded after 32 years of distinguished existence; the American National Ballet company out of Duluth and Ballet Arts Minnesota out of Minneapolis, both of which simply failed; and the collapse of the highly regarded Theatre de la Jeune Lune and the Minnesota Center for Photography. With significant downturns in charitable giving, government support, and audience participation, suddenly a wide swath of well-established, mid-sized local galleries and theaters are struggling like almost never before.
Theater note: Theatre in the Round’s Power by Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet • Nick Dear’s Power at Theatre in the Round is wonderful. Gifted veteran Lynn Musgrave directs a strong cast in this skillfully written portrayal of, as the saying goes, power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
Tanzanians in America urged to bridge trade links by Swallehe Msuya, African News Journal • Tanzania’s Ambassador to the United States, Hon. Ombeni Sefue has challenged Tanzanians living in the US to “become a bridge” in promoting trade and investment ties between their country and the US. Addressing Tanzanians resident in Minnesota in North Minneapolis on Saturday, September 13; the envoy said Tanzanians have to rise to the challenge of exporting to the US some 6,000 assorted products designated duty-free under the AGOA protocol.
MnIndy interview: Doug Henwood on Lehman, AIG, Gray Monday, and the economy by Steve Perry, Minnesota Independent • Lehman Brothers: A Wall Street icon goes bust.
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THINK FORWARD | Landing in America by Shi Yan • On April 16, after 24 hours of complete exhaustion and lack of sleep, my plane landed in the city of Minneapolis. Claudia came to the airport to pick me up, and I suddenly realized that I had already arrived in America. Because of the time difference, I held on for another couple of hours, and I took a walk beside a Minneapolis lake not far from the place I was staying. This city makes a person feel very comfortable—the weather is nice, and so is the air.
CABBAGES AND KINGS | As markets take a hit, average Americans are left reeling. What’s next? by Colette Davidson in Kolet Ink • Oh my god, the world is ending.
BLOG OF THE MODERATE LEFT | A brief word from Barack Obama by Jeff Fecke • We partisans are a nervous lot, and in the post-RNC period, with John McCain holding a slight lead in the polls, it’s understandable why a lot of us were starting to panic. Could McCain really win? Was Sarah Palin a huge game-changer? Had the Obama campaign come apart at the seams? We needed them to change themselves completely, retool on the fly, change everything, now! The election was slipping away!
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