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English amnesiac may be porn star. "Philip Staufen" tried to convince Canadian authorities that he was an English citizen who suffered from amnesia as a result of a beating. As it turns out, he may be George Lecheit, a French gay porn star. Authorities aren't ready to close the case yet, but even his lawyer doubts the amnesia theory. In a previous MeFi thread, a few people took the Canadian government to task for not helping Staufen return to the UK. In light of recent developments, did Ottawa make the right decision?
posted by likorish at 11:20 PM PST - 8 comments

"You just don't want to hear anyone scream anymore.." Blackhawk Down on the History Channel, includes interviews with American soldiers and Somalian militiamen.
posted by dglynn at 11:07 PM PST - 8 comments

Warhol liked Campbells Soup, and after eons of pondering the meaning behind his art, we can now answer why he gave Campbell's soup so much attention.
posted by insomnyuk at 11:01 PM PST - 15 comments

The next killer app? Scheduled for release in 2003, Google meets Echelon in a project that could spell the end of privacy as we know it. (Flash warning)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:27 PM PST - 12 comments

My most beloved book ever and the most creative toys ever made, IMO = "Fellowship of The Ring" - the Lego version! Please, if you're tired of Lego and/or LOTR links, don't trouble yourself to go here. (seen at memepool and usr/bin/girl
posted by Lynsey at 10:12 PM PST - 8 comments

Kmart on Verge of Filing for Bankruptcy...guess you'll have to get your crap from Walmart now.
posted by deftone at 10:09 PM PST - 64 comments

A New Vision for America. It's time, says the UPI editor-at-large. He calls for a presidential commission. Who should be on it? Do you have a new vision for America?
posted by sheauga at 9:57 PM PST - 6 comments

Cyber gripers arise! In response to the trend of big corporations successfully taking 'sucks' domains away from the owners (vivendiuniversalsucks.com is an example in the article), the Free Speech Center will be offering 'sucks' domains for free for the taking (and presumably first amendment/article 19 exercising).
posted by o2b at 5:31 PM PST - 10 comments

Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo, Cuba (the way some people seem to think it should be)
posted by dagny at 4:23 PM PST - 78 comments

"Kill duck before cooking" and other chortle-worthy corrections from The New York Times. If newspapers were smart, they'd recognize that their corrections columns are a potential gold mine in terms of entertainment value, and promote them accordingly. But, alas, newspapers are not smart. (NY Times link, naturally, so the usual warnings apply.)
posted by nathanstack at 3:58 PM PST - 4 comments

The SXSW Interactive Web Awards finalists are up... and the site I submitted isn't mentioned. Am I bitter? No.. no.. OK. YES. Anyway, the sites listed are the best of the best of 2001. Worth a look.
posted by crunchland at 3:56 PM PST - 17 comments

MTV Canada plays too many videos, says rival When is the last time you heard that MTV plays too many videos, if ever?OK, crappy videos, but still...
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 2:40 PM PST - 17 comments

Limbaugh gets hearing back. Love him or hate him, it is great to know that technology has enabled someone to get some hearing back. However, to implant the device requires doctors to "destory the inner ear". But it seems to have worked.
posted by ericdano at 2:08 PM PST - 44 comments

The worst banner design ever? I've seen some tasteless advertising in my day, but this simple animation leaves me speechless. Is there any depth to which advertisers will go to hawk their services?
posted by mathowie at 1:39 PM PST - 56 comments

How Stupid Are Scientists? As a followup to the How Stupid Are We? thread, this article from SF Gate explores scientific "head-scratchers."
posted by amanda at 12:50 PM PST - 19 comments

What if someone went looking for your nuggets? Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns is back in the news, this time accusing the fast-food chain Carl's Jr. of "...portray(ing) chickens in a degrading and demeaning manner" in its latest commercial, which features "a group of men in suits standing around as one turns a live chicken every which way in a futile search for nuggets."
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:12 PM PST - 30 comments

Human Rights Watch 2002 Report There will undoubtedly be (deserved) criticism of any report that seeks to take both West and East to task for human rights violations, often seemingly judging one far more harshly than the other and perpetuating a victim and agressor view of the world. That being said, this report is still highly relevant and interesting, and deserves your attention for its data and its primary agenda: to expose violations of human rights around the world.
posted by cell divide at 11:50 AM PST - 3 comments

Is intelligence hereditary or environment? A new theory sees the brain as a plastic mold of potential with the more neuron connections the better [hereditary] and environment stimulation shapes the mold untill maturity. "You could present a person with an IQ of 200 with the appropriate phenomena when they are 20 years old, after the critical learning period, and they would not have the capacity to adapt their brains to the new phenomena". People of low IQ perform poorly because their brains do not adapt well to environmental stimulation.
posted by stbalbach at 10:29 AM PST - 15 comments

In bigot versus bigot, white racist is winner : "Hey, when you find a black bigot, feel free to censure and ostracize him or her as the circumstance warrants. I don't care. Just don't pretend the transgression is what it is not. Don't claim it represents a significant threat to the quality of life of white Americans at large." (via a2g2)
posted by owillis at 10:24 AM PST - 41 comments

US Agency Says El Nino Pattern Emerging
Vanuatu decided this a few days earlier, and told its residents to start conserving water (1).
    In 1997, a major El Nino pattern created droughts in the Pacific followed by floods toward the end of the year (1, 2). I think one can reasonably attribute fires in Australia to El Nino influenced dry spells and high temperatures (1). If you care to make your own predictions, the number to watch is the SOI.
posted by rschram at 9:15 AM PST - 4 comments

Thank Mahalia Jackson for King's "I have a dream." "On August 28, 1963, under a nearly cloudless sky, more than 250,000 people, a fifth of them white, gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to rally for 'jobs and freedom.'... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had originally prepared a short and somewhat formal recitation of the sufferings of African Americans attempting to realize their freedom in a society chained by discrimination. He was about to sit down when gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out, 'Tell them about your dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!' Encouraged by shouts from the audience, King drew upon some of his past talks, and the result became the landmark statement of civil rights in America--a dream of all people, of all races and colors and backgrounds, sharing in an America marked by freedom and democracy."
posted by Carol Anne at 9:14 AM PST - 16 comments

Don't steal gas during a volcano. Bad things will happen.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:00 AM PST - 15 comments

Happy MLK Day.
posted by Ty Webb at 8:57 AM PST - 35 comments

Could the Surplus be Vacuumed Away? A US Treasury official, who must have regretted picking up the phone that day is engaged about the macroeconomic effect of change ending up in vacuum cleaners...
posted by brucec at 5:59 AM PST - 17 comments

The New, Bigger Size For Just About Everything! In this article Joseph Epstein coins the word upsizing. The gap between America and Europe grows ever larger. Your Individual Japanese Minimalist pack of potato chips is now our Family Size. Does anyone remember E.F.Shumacher or still believe that small is beautiful? Hey, is MetaFilter itself upsizing?[via Arts and Letters Daily]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:05 AM PST - 37 comments