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“You could almost see their dicks getting hard as they got new ideas." A Vanity Fair reporter investigates the chain of command that tossed out the Geneva Conventions and instituted coercive interrogation techniques -- some might call them torture or even war crimes -- in Bush's Global War on Terror. UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo's now-obsolete 81-page memo to the Pentagon in 2003 [available as PDFs here and here] was crucial, offering a broad range of legal justifications and deniability for disregarding international law in the name of "self-defense." Others say that Yoo was just making "a clear point about the limits of Congress to intrude on the executive branch in its exercise of duties as Commander in Chief." [previously here and here.]
comment posted at 10:42 AM on Apr-3-08

Sexual Karate. From the Life Foundations Nexus: Answering The Questions That Others Cannot, such as Why All Evolutionists Are Criminally Insane , For the Gentlemen: How To Tell If You Are A Stupid Man, For the Ladies: Computer-Generated Slut Photodiamines, and other goodies like TV Commercial Hell, and so much more.
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No, not Pugsly. If you are watching the miniseries on HBO but still haven't gotten your fill of the Adams Family, consider reading John Quincy Adams' brilliant diaries. You can browse selected topics and read, in his own handwriting, J.Q. Adams' insights ranging from slavery, to the Monroe Doctrine (which he formulated), to becoming Secretary of State, to his reaction to the news of his father's death.
comment posted at 2:43 PM on Apr-2-08

More business innovation from Radiohead Radiohead, iTunes and GarageBand are giving you the opportunity to remix the band's new single "Nude". To make remixing easy, the separate 'stems'* from the song are available to purchase from iTunes _here_. The 'stems' available are bass, voice, guitar, strings/fx and drums. You can mix them in any way you like, either by adding your own beats and instrumentation, or just remixing the original parts.
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The End Of The World As We Know It. If you want to imagine the catastrophe - how you would cope, what would you do to save yourself and your family - where do you turn for advice?... The idea of dying together, all of us, in some ways seems less appalling than the thought of going alone. Via.
comment posted at 3:43 AM on Apr-2-08

Max Mosley, controversial president of the FIA (the governing board of F1 and other international motorsports), made headline news this past weekend for a "sick nazi orgy with 5 hookers" that was caught on tape (posted, but has since been pulled down). He has apologized, but does not plan to leave his position, despite many who feel his vices may detract from motor racing.
comment posted at 2:09 PM on Apr-1-08

"When you have a TV at full blast, and there's a talking head, you hear his intake of breaths in between sentences really, really clearly. Ha-ha! And if you listen carefully for those, as though that was the important part of communication, you wind up not really hearing anything else! It is just a person gasping for breath! Ha-ha. The effect is especially great with Nancy Pelosi." Gene Weingarten spends a day with the media firehose.
comment posted at 10:01 AM on Apr-1-08

The New Kids on the Block are getting back together according to the Boston Globe. It wouldn't be the first time the Globe played an April Fool's Day prank on its readers. But it's also in RollingStone. Countdown to the reunion. NKOTB myspazz.
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In 1973, John McCain wrote an extensive article about his account as a POW in Vietnam. In that article he stated that he told his captors "O.K., I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital." Just what the military information was given away, he has never disclosed. However this former army intelligence officer, and his researcher wife [WMV] claim the information led directly to the deaths of many other airmen including possibly their own son, and constitutes treason. A group of Vietnam Vets have formed an organization to "correct the record" of John McCain behavior as a POW. Are we witnessing the beginning of Swift Vets 2008 ?
comment posted at 8:01 AM on Mar-31-08
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Tron's light cycle scene 'Sweded'
comment posted at 4:23 PM on Mar-30-08

Metafilter comments vs. YouTube comments. A side-by-side comparison.
comment posted at 6:40 PM on Mar-29-08

Rush Limbaugh may be facing indictment for a fifth-degree felony after encouraging Republican voters to cross party lines and vote for Hillary Clinton ("Operation Chaos"), but if you hurry you can still buy the shirt. Previously.
comment posted at 7:54 PM on Mar-28-08

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

This story's making the rounds today, for a very, very good reason: A Victim Treats His Mugger Right
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The Truth Is Still Out There [link includes embedded video, scroll down for article]. Members of The X-Files' cast and crew (minus Anderson/Scully and Duchovny/Mulder) discuss the myths and legends surrounding the show, as well as the upcoming new movie, at the 2008 Paley Festival, sponsored by The Paley Center for Media (named for broadcaster William S. Paley, and formerly known as The Museum of Television & Radio). [Previous X-Files-related posts here.]
comment posted at 2:47 AM on Mar-28-08

Violence against emos sweeps across Mexico.
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Little by little, millions of Americans surrendered equity in their homes in recent years. Lulled by good times, they borrowed — sometimes heavily — against the roofs over their heads.

Now the bill is coming due.
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comment posted at 6:51 AM on Mar-28-08

Talking to the Taliban is a series of 42 interviews with common Taliban soldiers.
comment posted at 3:26 AM on Mar-27-08

In honor of the 5-year anniversary of the Iraq War, PBS' Frontline presented a fantastic 2- part special on the issue this past Monday and Tuesday. It is now available in it's entirety online along with interview transcripts from senior officials, a video timeline of the war, and battlefield stories from soldiers. Bush's War
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comment posted at 4:59 PM on Apr-2-08

Y'all think whatever you want about Michael Jackson now, knaamean? But on this day back in 1983, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was being taped before a live audience. Since he was no longer contractually tied to Motown, MJ planned to attend but not perform at the function; he was finally able to negotiate a solo spot singing a non-Motown song. Thriller had been released more than a year prior; Billie Jean had been the Number One single on Billboard's Top 100 for two weeks. It was time for a Pop Culture "Do you remember where you were when...?" moment. And then came the moonwalk.
comment posted at 1:13 PM on Mar-25-08

Do you love South Park but you wish you could watch all the episodes on your own time? Uncensored? Without waiting for (or paying for) the DVDs? If so, South Park Studios just answered your prayers. Since the Daily Show recently did the same thing - is Comedy Central making big waves, or big mistakes?
comment posted at 3:55 AM on Mar-25-08

I was watching Back to the Future Part II today, and realized that their idea of the world in 2015 doesn't really seem all that feasible now. While I was watching, I happened to come across this interesting piece in the now-free Sports Illustrated archives: a feature, written in 1979, on how the NFL would look in the year 2000. The full article is pretty long, but if you want the highlights, they're right here.
comment posted at 6:55 PM on Mar-24-08

How Obama and Clinton could run together and take turns being president under the 25th Amendment.
comment posted at 11:56 AM on Mar-24-08