Domestic Spy Satellites Delayed (Sort Of)

The Homeland Security Department has agreed to delay spy satellite surveillance of the United States for counterterrorism and other purposes, in response to concerns raised by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairmen of the the House Homeland Security Committee.Except that they...

Chris Benoit -- Before The Killings, An Icon To Insiders

By J.M. Berger The 2003 Royal Rumble, a WWE pay-per-view event, left city wrestling fans with a great memory they thought was indelible. It was an epic battle in Boston, between two of the most talented performers in the history of professional wrestling. One of those men was...

Drug Deaths Haunt Boston Pro Wrestling Scene

By J.M. Berger In his television persona, wrestling promoter Vincent McMahon plays the role of a cartoonish villain, and it's all in fun. But for local promoters, the headlines generated by McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment can create real life problems, putting an ugly...

More About Obscenity

I had a story in the Globe earlier this week about a new linguistic study of obscenity. The story ran a bit long and some of it ended up on the cutting room floor, so I thought I would reconstitute it here. Call this the "director's cut." In keeping with previous postings on...

Coming soon, a linguist's guide to obscenities

"The National Science Foundation is paying more than $200,000 for a study whose results may be unprintable.The grant's title, "Expressive Content and the Semantics of Contexts," doesn't sound exciting, until you figure out what "expressive content" means.Christopher Potts , a...