Adrian Piper

Adrian Piper

ELIZABETH DEE GALLERY

For her first solo show in New York after a seven-year hiatus, influential first-generation Conceptualist Adrian Piper, known for infusing her rigorous practice with the concerns of identity politics, focused on impermanence and loss. Piper presented a selection from a series begun in 2003 titled "Everything," short for "Everything will be taken away," a chilling apocalyptic statement that is inscribed on most of the works. The show was thrilling and disturbing but above all confounding; there was nothing here to indicate why she had been quiet for so long. But that, it seemed, was part of the point.

On entering the gallery, visitors …

Natural citrus.(New Products)

Dry Soda introduced its new Blood Orange flavor of less sweet soft drinks. Dry Blood Orange Soda has fruity, bright and high acidic characteristics and 50 calories per 12-ounce bottle. Like the remainder of Dry Soda's lineup, Dry Blood Orange Soda contains four ingredients per bottle and is all-natural, caffeine-free, vegan and kosher. The new variety joins the Dry Soda lineup that includes Lavender, Lemongrass, Rhubarb, Cucumber, Juniper Berry and Vanilla Bean. The company also redesigned its packaging to …

U.S. `condolence' payouts in Iraq soar; Military cash given to families of civilian victims raises scrutiny.(Main)

Byline: BRYAN BENDER Boston Globe

WASHINGTON - The amount of cash the U.S. military has paid to families of Iraqi civilians killed or maimed in operations involving American troops skyrocketed from just under $5 million in 2004 to almost $20 million last year, according to Pentagon financial data.

The dramatic spike in what's known as condolence payments - distributed to Iraqi families whose loved ones were caught in U.S. crossfire or victimized during U.S. ground and air assaults - suggests that American commanders made on-the-spot restitution far more frequently, according to congressional aides and officials familiar with a special fund at the disposal of military officers in Iraq.

Defense Department officials maintain that the idea behind the payments - which officials said range from a few hundred dollars for injuries …