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Slavery Ended in the 1960s, not the 1860s The Civil War made slavery illegal, but that didn't wipe it out completely. White farmer, John Williams, forced his black overseer to murder 11 slaves in the wake of a 1921 federal investigation. The Dial Brothers were also convicted by the Justice Department for "African slavery" in the 1940s. In another case, a black genealogist found a 104-year-old man who claims he and his family were enslaved until the 1960s. It's not necessary to rehash the entire reparations debate to realize that some of these post-Civil War slavery cases may finally have a day in court.
posted by jonp72 at 11:37 PM PST - 13 comments

richard perle has been discussed here before, finds himself caught in his own web again. should this man be allowed to remain on the defense policy board arguably one of the most influential bodies of unelected citizens in the world?
posted by specialk420 at 10:29 PM PST - 7 comments

Jerry Garcia Autopsy! "A groovy peak inside Captain Trips." CSI meets The Muppets? [via Arettie, bass player for The Sha-pels]
posted by mcsweetie at 9:22 PM PST - 9 comments

To quote their #2 and eponymous fan site, Young Marble Giants' music has been described as "haunting," "enchanting," "dark and strange". It is unusual in that it relies on precise, sparse textures to create tension. Few rock bands have expressed a sense of disquiet with such elegance. Long live Young Marble Giants!

They recorded but one album and yet a vastly influential album it was... Cardiffians: the Young Marble Giants Web archive is, of course, the #1 fan site, and not just for the video. And a very nice commercial-free lyrics page has been provided by Always on the run. (Do check out the pin up!)
posted by y2karl at 8:25 PM PST - 7 comments

HBO wants feedback about Carnivàle. The first season of HBO's Carnivàle concluded last Sunday (making way for Angels in America to occupy the next two Sunday evenings). Although a second season is likely, according to its creator, HBO is now asking viewers what they think about the show, asking them to rate each character and say whether or not they'd watch a second season. [survey link via TV Barn Ticker; background info inside.]
posted by realityblurred at 8:06 PM PST - 21 comments

Psyop Anthem You'll never notice you are dyin' just as long as you keep buyin'. Unabashed pro-consumption animated short. [warning: 34MB mpeg. via everlasting blort]
posted by eddydamascene at 7:15 PM PST - 16 comments

Organized Crime Registry.
posted by hama7 at 6:01 PM PST - 1 comments

Like Michael Jackson? Amazon customers recommend...
posted by Mwongozi at 5:52 PM PST - 31 comments

Seth Scriver's Animations (Flash Required)
posted by boost ventilator at 3:50 PM PST - 5 comments

Spacehijackers Architecture:loads of pointless flash
posted by alball at 3:21 PM PST - 7 comments

To add to the recent JapanFilter phenom, here are two unrelated items: a brief tutorial on using Japanese commodes, and a list of Japanese car names. Interested in buying a Nissan Homy? A Mitsubishi Bravo Exceed, perhaps?
posted by antifreez_ at 2:49 PM PST - 9 comments

Maneki Neko is a cat figurine, sits and has it's front paw raised as if it is calling for luck, fortune and customers to your store, and invites happiness to your home.
posted by riffola at 2:35 PM PST - 15 comments

Sidetalkin provides humorous photos that force us to ask the question: Has Nokia's NGage redefined phone ergonomics or simply provided a humorous diversion for a slow Friday afternoon?
posted by donovan at 2:28 PM PST - 14 comments

Possession of ... Advil can get you expelled?
posted by donkeyschlong at 12:47 PM PST - 50 comments

With a potential blizzard blanketing the northeast, it looks like flashmobs are out and snowball fights are in. What do you think, are we gonna see a lot more of this kind of thing now that online invitations are setting the standard? This invite seems to be flying around NYC pretty fast indeed. The question is: How big will the battle be?
posted by n9 at 12:08 PM PST - 24 comments

Truth About Rave? "Raves are a means of the devil to solicit worship. The Raver who commits himself to ingest drugs and dance the night away is unsuspectingly presenting his entire body as an instrument to express worship to demons and satan."

And here I thought God was a DJ....
posted by grabbingsand at 9:05 AM PST - 136 comments

A Google Search for "miserable failure" yields some hilarious results.
posted by ignu at 8:26 AM PST - 24 comments

Vixen Love - Read the logs of AIM users tricked into a relationship with a mindless chat bot named Emily. Remember, VixenLove is just out to make friends!
posted by anastasiav at 8:06 AM PST - 20 comments

The BBC is asking visitors of its news site to vote from a shortlist of the ten most embarrassing political moments. Visitors can watch a short film [real media] which shows all ten nominated moments (forgive the home-video moments style background muzak). There's some variety here: Tony Blair and Neil Kinnock in moments exhibiting a baffling degree of misguidedness, George W Bush and Kenneth Clarke in tight spots (figuratively and literally), while Charles Kennedy and John Prescott probably coming out of their situations looking better than they did beforehand. For me the most cringe-inducing clip is that of John Redwood, the then newly appointed Secretary of State for Wales, attempting to mime the Welsh national anthem. Genuinely difficult to watch.
posted by nthdegx at 7:18 AM PST - 31 comments

EBay removes ad for sale of human kidney. Randall told The Sun newspaper that he was trying to raise money for special therapy for his 6-year-old daughter Alice, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Richard Posner shakes fist.
posted by anathema at 7:03 AM PST - 9 comments

Around the States in Eighty Days. Monty Python's Eric Idle is three quarters of the way through a North American tour and keeping an extensive online diary as he goes. "I would never be sitting at home writing my memoirs like this. There's just something about the time available and the different places we visit that invites introspection."
posted by rory at 6:53 AM PST - 17 comments

The Japanese SAQ provides some much-needed and often fascinating answers for seldom-asked questions about Japanese culture like, "Why do those porcelain Tanuki statues outside of restaurants have such outrageously large testicles?"
posted by MrBaliHai at 5:55 AM PST - 23 comments

Cartoons act like cocaine. *snort* (via PVP)
posted by jozxyqk at 5:46 AM PST - 3 comments

Weapons of Mass Destruction Found! Only they weren't in Iraq, they were in Texas and the terrorists involved weren't Al-Queda or Islamic fundamentalists but white supremacists. I haven't seen this on Google News, CNN or ABC News. I only read about it because I happened across Sensible Erection which I think I found browsing through MetaFilter user profiles.
posted by substrate at 4:59 AM PST - 49 comments

Rraagharghgh!! Braaaiinsss muuussst eeeeaaat braaainnsss...
posted by PenDevil at 1:55 AM PST - 13 comments