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Silent Star Wars. (YouTube)
comment posted at 12:43 PM on Jul-28-07

According to LA's Fox 11, Anonymous is epic evil and considered harmful.
comment posted at 8:40 AM on Jul-28-07
comment posted at 8:46 AM on Jul-28-07

It's All Because. Have you ever had those days where you're wondering just why everything about your life is feeling like it's going down the toilet bowl? Oded Gross knows, and he will tell you all about it. In a song.
comment posted at 7:34 PM on Jul-26-07

Ward Churchill fired. The Colorado Board of Regents made a point to say that he was not fired for the infamous essay in which he called financial workers killed in the World Trade Center attack to "little Eichmanns" for their role in facilitating US corporate financial interests. They insist that he was fired for "serious, repeated and deliberate research misconduct that falls below the minimum standard of professional integrity, including fabrication, falsification, improper citation and plagiarism," allegations made against Churchill even before his controversial post-9/11 remarks. While others warned that the firing signaled a breach of academic freedom and assault on the idea of tenure itself, Churchill announced he is suing the university. (previously)
comment posted at 6:03 PM on Jul-25-07

In January 2006, small amounts of genetically engineered rice turned up in a shipment that was tested ... by a French customer of Riceland Foods, a big rice mill based in Stuttgart, Ark. Testing revealed that the genetically modified rice contained a strain of Liberty Link that had not been approved for human consumption. What's more, trace amounts of the Liberty Link had mysteriously made their way into the commercial rice supply in all five of the Southern states where long-grain rice is grown. Aventis Crop Science had contracted with a handful of farmers to grow the rice, which was known as Liberty Link because its genes had been altered to resist a weed killer called Liberty, also made by Aventis. Then, the French pharmaceutical giant that owned Aventis Crop Science decided to sell the U.S. biotech unit and abandon the very emotional business of reengineering the foods we eat. "We didn't want to take any chances," says a former Aventis executive. "We burned and buried enough rice to feed 20 million people." Last November, the USDA retroactively approved the Liberty Link rice for human consumption.
comment posted at 10:05 AM on Jul-23-07

A coworker hipped me to this, and I found it quite astonishing that I'd heard nothing about it.

It's a great irony that, while the United States has probably never been less popular among Canadians than in the era of George W Bush, plans to integrate Canada more deeply into the US have been proceeding at a brisk clip. The threat of Canada being absorbed into the US has traditionally provoked strong reactions here, as the pitched electoral battles over the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1980s and '90s attest. But the issue seems to have largely disappeared in recent years, leaving the impression that the push for deeper integration has stopped or that Canadians no longer care about it. Neither is true.

It seems that a goodly number of politically active groups are aware, however, and are organizing protests. How effective will those protests be when they won't be able to get within several kilometers of the site? Has anyone got any thoughts about this? How will they fit 52 stars on the Star-Spangled Banner? Should I don my tinfoil hat? Is the protest even relevant, given that most of the news reports I can find are calling it a fait accompli?
comment posted at 9:58 AM on Jul-23-07

Famous Poems Rewritten as Limericks , as brought to us by our very own Lore Sjöberg. English majors, begin your griping now.
comment posted at 11:23 PM on Jul-23-07

Miniature Robotic Insect Takes Off Researchers have created a miniature robotic fly that weighs just 60 milligrams and has a wingspan of three centimeters for covert surveillance. Thats progress!
comment posted at 7:53 PM on Jul-22-07
comment posted at 7:54 PM on Jul-22-07

Iranian man stoned to death for adultery after serving 11-year prison sentence. Unsuccessful, unofficial investigation here. Amnesty International pleads for life of his partner.
comment posted at 10:01 AM on Jul-21-07

From the Muslim's are coming dep't: Snakes on a Plane Neocons on a Cruise. British Alternet reporter pays $6000 to go on a cruise for National Review readers with the likes of William Buckley and Kenneth Star on board. He keeps his lib-tard tendencies undercover and what he hears will shock you surprise no one.
comment posted at 10:48 AM on Jul-18-07

Presidential candidate Ron Paul (previously) introduced H.R.2755 on June 15, 2007, a bill "To abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks, to repeal the Federal Reserve Act, and for other purposes." None of the major news sources have thus far reported it (CNN, BBC, Reuters, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, AP) which presumably means it's not newsworthy, perhaps because it doesn't have the slightest chance of passing. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean it's a bad idea. But then, that's the problem with many of his positions such as abolishing the IRS, personal income taxes, and ending the War On Drugs. When asked why he wants to be president, he said, "I want to restore the original intent of the constitution, which maximizes individual liberty and restrains the government from doing the things they shouldn't be doing." And as was said on The Colbert Report, he was one of the few who voted against the Patriot Act and the Iraq war. LOL!
comment posted at 10:30 AM on Jul-18-07

Where's an egg? Psuedo-Russian noir wumpus action. Confused? Consider bidding on the only copy of the instructions in existence. Need a break? Check out some other fine titles from completely made up game company Videlectrix.
comment posted at 10:08 PM on Jul-17-07

Tough talk about impeachment. A public opinion poll from the American Research Group recently reported that more than four in ten Americans — 45% — favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half — 54% — favored impeachment for Vice President Cheney. In the video segment linked to here (available via javascript pop-up window from the main linked page), Bill Moyers gets perspective on the role of impeachment in American political life from Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein, who wrote the first article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, and THE NATION's John Nichols, author of THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT. Transcript is available here.
comment posted at 8:56 AM on Jul-16-07

Millions of tax dollars melting away... guess Katrina victims didn't need ice after all.
comment posted at 8:11 PM on Jul-14-07

Arafat Died of AIDS, Fellow Terrorist Says. Today, the PFLP and the Palestinian Authority announced that the French government had sent Arafat's medical records back; the cause of death was AIDS.
comment posted at 10:20 AM on Jul-13-07

It's just a teaser trailer for a monster movie, but people (geeks) are going crazy trying to figure out what it's about. It may or may not have some ambiguous viral marketing associated with it (previously). Some think it's Cthulhu come to destroy New York, some think it's Voltron. Other less sensible people think it's a lion. It is definitely not a lion.
comment posted at 1:02 PM on Jul-11-07

"Honest Ed" Mirvish, 1914-2007.
comment posted at 10:53 AM on Jul-11-07

How is Babby Formed? Kottke Megnut form babby.
comment posted at 5:15 PM on Jul-6-07

Disney reuses animation.
comment posted at 12:57 PM on Jul-5-07

Watch Iran's new media coup, Press TV, online and take a look at its news website.
comment posted at 5:55 PM on Jul-4-07
comment posted at 6:07 PM on Jul-4-07
comment posted at 6:09 PM on Jul-4-07

Goodnewsfilter: BBC journalist Alan Johnston has been freed. He was kidnapped in March. He credits his release to the election of Hamas: ""The kidnappers seemed very comfortable and very secure in their operation until... a few weeks ago, when Hamas took charge of the security operation here."
comment posted at 12:33 AM on Jul-4-07

Applicant who failed the MA bar exam sues not only the exam board, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and four justices. Why? Because a question on the exam involved a Lesbian Couple, and therefore "the Massachusetts state government...are purposely-advancing Secular Humanism's homosexual agenda." (link goes to pdf of the complaint full of hilarious claims like this one)
comment posted at 2:13 PM on Jul-3-07

PM Stephen Harper’s Canada Day greeting Harper adopts a hawkish, true-blue Tory tone for this year's Canada Day greeting, with an uncharacteristic (for a Canadian) shout-out to God: From championships in hockey to humanitarian and military leadership roles in Afghanistan and Haiti, we can say again this year, Canada is a citizen of the world and we make our contribution a positive one. And why shouldn`t we? From the natural wealth of the land that God created, to the talents, energy and imagination of people drawn from all the nations of the earth, we are a country that has been truly blessed.
comment posted at 2:04 PM on Jul-3-07
comment posted at 12:45 AM on Jul-4-07

"In 2003, Americans spent an estimated US$5,635 per capita on health care, while Canadians spent US$3,003... Canada’s single-payer system, which relies on not-for-profit delivery, achieves health outcomes that are at least equal to those in the United States at two-thirds the cost." What do wealthy, educated Americans living in Canada think?
comment posted at 9:11 AM on Jul-3-07
comment posted at 11:08 PM on Jul-4-07

We all know the UFO Festival is coming, but with it just a week away also comes fresh news of the crash itself. Walter Haut, the former PR man at Roswell Army Airfield, filled out an affidavit in 1993 detailing his experience with the crash. But nine years later Haut secretly filled out another, much more detailed, affidavit that was to be sealed until after his death. One with much heavier implications. Seeing as how this information was first released in book form, are we looking at a postmortem fame grab or a genuinely guilty conscience?
comment posted at 9:14 PM on Jul-2-07

The IFCE world ranked number 1 competitive eater, Takeru Kobayashi may loss his title on July 4th, at the Superbowl of competitive eating, the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Contest. Kobayashi is heading into the event with a jaw injury. That gives a big opening to the world ranked number 2 eater, Joey “the jaws” Chestnut. But, is Kobayashi just playing mind-games with Chestnut. It should be an exciting event in Coney Island on Wednesday. You can catch live coverage of the event on ESPN at 12 noon, EST. [previously]
comment posted at 6:10 PM on Jul-2-07

The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel
comment posted at 7:27 PM on Jun-30-07

Spoiling Harry Potter: Hacker claims to have spoiled the last Harry Potter book with a technique called spear phishing. "We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring ... It's amazing to see how much people inside the company have copies and drafts of this book." Let's see if we can discuss spoilers and spear phishing without actually spoiling anything here. Warning: The Wired link is safe, but it contains a link to the purported spoiler.
comment posted at 8:51 AM on Jun-22-07
comment posted at 8:51 AM on Jun-22-07

Ready for '90s nostalgia yet? Well, throw some flannel on your Furby and get ready for that decade's most migrane-tastic fad, the autostereogram, or Magic Eye. Of course, the Web can't leave anything alone, so you can watch a moving autostereogram, play a little wall-eyed Tetris or Pong, and create your own image to delight and annoy your friends.
comment posted at 7:04 PM on Jun-18-07

China faces slavery and human trafficking.
comment posted at 10:06 AM on Jun-18-07

The Hamas-Fatah civil war seems to be winding down in Gaza. Meanwhile, Palestinian and Israeli bloggers discuss the idea that the West Bank will go into confederation with Jordan; leaving Gaza to the Egyptians.
comment posted at 6:31 PM on Jun-14-07
comment posted at 7:53 PM on Jun-14-07

Modern Furniture for Cats.
comment posted at 2:05 PM on Jun-12-07

Genarlow Wilson, now 19, had his sentence reversed today and is expected to leave prison shortly. He served two years of his ten-year-sentence for engaging in consensual sex acts with a fellow teenager. Previously discussed here.
comment posted at 2:14 PM on Jun-11-07
comment posted at 2:27 PM on Jun-11-07

Senator Lieberman advocates military strike on Iran Newsfilter: Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) on CBS's Face the Nation yesterday morning laid out a case for the US taking military action against Iran. Glenn Greenwald says that while neocon true believers are becoming harder to find in the GOP ranks, Holy Joe embodies one in its purest form. The Salem-News simply calls his demands cowardly, and others wonder if he has a point.
comment posted at 2:33 PM on Jun-11-07

AWGTHTGTTA? FYI, NALOPKT. Alas, TMIKTLIU. (Previously)
comment posted at 11:54 PM on Jun-9-07
comment posted at 11:57 PM on Jun-9-07

TV actress and hotel heiress Paris Hilton, infamous for her inadvertent comedic stylings on reality show "The Simple Life", was ordered to return to serve her incarceration sentence today. The order comes fast on the heels of an evacuation from her correctional facility in Lynwood due to supposed health problems(nsfw).
comment posted at 1:22 PM on Jun-8-07
comment posted at 1:48 PM on Jun-8-07
comment posted at 5:59 PM on Jun-8-07

Uptick in Cold War-like rhetoric making you a little nostalgic for the era of parachute pants and Members Only jackets?
A cabal of Russki comrades at some pinko university have been going around collecting and resurrecting disused Soviet-era arcade games, which became instantly obsolete with the collapse of communism. Sea Wolf, Duck Hunt, Pole Position, Dogfight!
We begin bombing in five minutes.
comment posted at 10:20 AM on Jun-7-07
comment posted at 3:43 PM on Jun-7-07