links for 2010-09-14

Soweto, South Africa, is best known as the location for emblematic struggles during apartheid, and more recently as the shooting location and partial inspiration for the sci-fi film District 9. Now, a new photography book by lifetime Johannesburg photographer Jodi Bieber shows a more varied and nuanced view of the township as a hub of music, culture and business.

Michael (left) and Richie (yes, that’s how they identified him) Daley, sons of Mayor Richard J. Daley, work as pages at the 1960 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.

A would-be Koran-burner in Amarillo, Texas was foiled by a 23-year-old Texas skateboarder named Jacob Isom, who was among a group of people protesting a planned burning on Saturday. As Isom described it: “I snuck up behind him and took his Koran, he said something about burning the Koran, I said ‘Dude you have no Koran,’ and ran off.”