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Interview with one of "the evil ones." A conservative group founded by first lady Lynne Cheney recently released a report (pdf) that accuses numerous college professors of being enemies of civilization, for not "transmit[ing] our history and heritage to the next generation." Curiously, the report originally looked like this (pdf), which quoted professors by name to create a modern-day blacklist, but was removed and reformated to the one currently on thier site. This interview sheds light on one professor's view of being in the report and on the current state of debate and dissent among academics. [via RRE]
posted by mathowie at 10:00 PM PST - 43 comments

Blockbuster now puts terrorism warning stickers on videos. Where's Cyndi Lauper when you need her? Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving.
posted by swift at 5:49 PM PST - 20 comments

Pity the powdered doughnut. Always the last one left in the box and now tainted forever by terrorism. Shed a tear for its demise then cheer up by reading this slightly skewed history of the hole-y pastry. (via Scrubbles)
posted by MrBaliHai at 4:44 PM PST - 25 comments

New Gravity Map released. The Grace satellites have sent back the first monthly installment of five years' worth of gravity mapping data. [145K jpg] The upshot? Move to India - you'll weigh 1% less.
posted by gleuschk at 2:16 PM PST - 15 comments

Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London Have always heard so much about this. Wild debates all Sunday long, no rest for the weary. Martin the Sex Speaker, Simon the Bulgarian and Barry the Marxist Mystic; who knows, do they have their own web sites ? Any other Speakers Corners one can go to, or is this purely a British phenomenon?
posted by Voyageman at 1:39 PM PST - 13 comments

house of saud close to collapse interesing piece form the uk guardian's investigative editor david leigh, it seems the saudi govern,ent's recent pr blitz has failed and is symptomatic of a deeper malaise
posted by quarsan at 1:05 PM PST - 9 comments

Unable to believe this story on the Drudge Report, I did some searching and discovered that Kopi Luwak is not only the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world, but also possesses the greatest potential for comical logos.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:58 PM PST - 25 comments

Another Kaycee Nicole? A celebrated teenage author and Aids sufferer may turn out to be a hoax, concocted by his "mother". (More inside).
posted by liam at 12:47 PM PST - 17 comments

Anorexia is a lifestyle choice? Some, apparently, have argued that it is, and they are putting their money where their mouthes are in the form of 1 million dollars (for lack of food, I suppose). "One of the leaders of the 'Annas' gives her name only as Sahara and describes herself a 22-year-old student from the prestigious Stanford University, near San Francisco ... A computer specialist, she runs a website that provides detailed advice for those who want to starve themselves — coupled with tips on fooling parents, friends and doctors." Some respond to the advocacy of anorexia, but gains and losses are both apparent in what looks to be a battle of attrition. The Starving Annas remind one of the equally controversial efforts by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and similar movements in that both advocate widely-considered unhealthy lifestyle choices. (Sunday Times link courtesy of The Morning News.)
posted by moz at 9:20 AM PST - 83 comments

Ashcroft gets a double kick in the groin. It really heartens me to see this. I'm all for finding those responsible, but not at the cost of the Constitution and civil rights. How long before all of the state of Oregon is charged with terrorrism and brought before Bush's special tribunal?
posted by jammer at 9:13 AM PST - 30 comments

Really, really nice... lots of lovely devices...
posted by Spoon at 9:05 AM PST - 6 comments

Triplehom.com! A mindbending little site [sight, cite] designed for [fore, four] the wordsmith/word-splitter in you.
posted by webchick at 8:23 AM PST - 3 comments

For all your middle east rumor mill needs Just another alternative media, highly speculative source for rumors... blah, blah, blah Quite a few of their "stories" have been confirmed as of late. Maybe it's worth another look for those of you who have never been.
posted by yangwar at 8:06 AM PST - 7 comments

One of the most amusing Javascript special effects I've seen in a long time; brought to you by Nestea Phillipines. What other Javascript tricks brought a smile to your face?
posted by SilentSalamander at 7:42 AM PST - 28 comments

Software projects are notorious for time and budget overruns (examples that come to mind include Mozilla and the Denver Airport baggage system). There are a large number of design methods, development processes, and programming methodologies that claim or hint at objective estimation of development schedules, project complexity, and programmer productivity. Unfortunately, they're all bunk.

"The creation of genuinely new software has far more in common with developing a new theory of physics than it does with producing cars or watches on an assembly line."

Programmers, try telling that one to your next customer.
posted by lagado at 6:19 AM PST - 21 comments

How to survive extreme natural events. International project promoting understanding disasters from the "roots" up, and preventing disasters from the "bottom up" as well as the "top down". Whatever you think of his politics, this project should be encouraged.
posted by asok at 6:06 AM PST - 5 comments

New Mozilla Browser, Will anybody have this new mozilla browser! A new version of the open source mozilla browser (what Netscape 6 is based upon) is out. Preliminary impressions: faster, less buggy and with cool new toys. This is getting better and better, maybe we will get some competiton after all.
posted by nedrichards at 4:36 AM PST - 26 comments

Today's high school seniors a bunch of scientific know nothings? According to the most recent national test results, it would appear so. Is this a case that the money is thrown in areas that will make the SATs look good? If that's the case, has that been money well spent? Is it really just a case of money? Whatever the answer, it sort of makes you fear for the future.
posted by MAYORBOB at 4:22 AM PST - 37 comments

Break the law just like the ruling party - get arrested. According to Singapore's Straits Times (article expires in seven days, I linked to the cache on Google), Robert Ho allegedly encouraged an 'attempt to incite violence or disobedience to the law'. The original posting that got him into trouble was encouraging civil disobedience, as if Singaporeans would dare do such a thing. (From Politech.)
posted by jetgrrl at 12:30 AM PST - 23 comments