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If the poor get richer, does the world see progress? The global "consumer class", defined by those who make $7,000 or more in local currency, is growing quickly but making it even more difficult for the worlds poor to get ahead. 1.7 billion belong to the consumer class while over 3 billion survive on less than $2 a day. Will the growing tide of new consumers in the developing world contribute to the solution of global poverty or simply add to the problem?
posted by stbalbach at 10:42 PM PST - 26 comments

Got bacon? If you love bacon like I do -- and I know you do -- you'll find yourself wishing you had a ecological AND pipe-friendly way of disposing of All That Grease. Add lye + water, and if you don't go blind, you have soap.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 9:16 PM PST - 21 comments

Artnode: Contemporary Danish Art
posted by hama7 at 5:45 PM PST - 5 comments

"I Have a Gentil C**k." A rooster that is, but Apple may not have realized that when they altered the title on iTunes (iTunes link.) The song (sample: Real Audio, Windows Media), arranged by Carol Wood, is a 14th-15th century medieval love song, a variation of the aube. It may have inspired Chaucer's description of Chantecleer in the Canterbury Tales. [Via Digital Medievalist, SFW unless you work for Apple.]
posted by homunculus at 5:28 PM PST - 10 comments

Texas Pharmacist Refuses Emergency Contraception for Rape Victim. Should the pharmacist be punished?
posted by EmoChild at 4:12 PM PST - 63 comments

The Day the Music Died. Charles Hardin Holley. Rest in peace. A remarkably influential songwriter/performer/producer who left us so much in such a short time.

Plus, this guy and that other guy.
posted by geekyguy at 4:03 PM PST - 6 comments

Sensitive Light photographic images from Smoke to Hoverflies. via Jerry Kindall
posted by Feisty at 11:05 AM PST - 15 comments

How We Are Fighting the War on Terrorism: IDs and the illusion of security IDs and the illusion of security Bruce Schneier at sfgate.com writes about why ID checks are ineffective.
posted by tbc at 9:32 AM PST - 18 comments

"fleet owners of a tanker companies" = the new evil doers?
what kind of questions do yesterday's discovery of ricin in the capitol, and the january 9th article ask about our "war on terror"? [ initial link via TPM ]
posted by specialk420 at 9:14 AM PST - 28 comments

The Exorcist Experience: U.S. soldier pops The Exorcist into his portable DVD player and discovers that he's right there, where the opening scenes were filmed. Now the Army (and movie director William Friedkin) plan to back an Exorcist-themed tourist attraction. Admission will be $2 or $5 with a kabob lunch.
posted by Holden at 9:14 AM PST - 14 comments

A MyDoom Worm Blog F-Secure, the firm that claims to have cracked the MyDoom virus in two hours, is blogging the MyDoom virus outbreak.
posted by NedKoppel at 9:12 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

All Hail The Ayatollah Of The 21st Century Ayatollah Ali Sistani of Iraq is the spiritual leader of the Shi'ia Muslims in Iraq and seems to be a force to be reckoned with as his clout grows. He now has a website and questions can be submitted. We particularly like his views on oral sex:
Question: "I am really sorry that I have to ask this type of Question. But Since I grew up in a western country; I really don't much about our religion. And I can't ask this Question to my parents due to subject matter. Brother my question is, can we have an oral sex before or after the sexual intercourse or can we have oral sex at all? Is it haram? "
Answer: "Oral sex act is permissible with the consent of both husband and wife provided that no liquid gets into the mouth."
posted by turbanhead at 8:12 AM PST - 37 comments

Mieskuoro Huutajat are the "Men's Choir Shouters," formed in 1987 in Oulu, Finland, by a group of young men who clearly had nothing better to do. The idea was to dress about 20 men in black suits, white shirts and black rubber ties, and train them to shout some of the most beloved songs in the Finnish song heritage. Since then they've branched out a bit. Check out their version of the Star-Spangled Banner. Apparently, they are currently performing on an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean, shouting at a stranded ice-breaking ship.
posted by carter at 8:12 AM PST - 12 comments